


HMCR: Devourer

by IceDevice



Series: Hueco Mundo Rewrite [1]
Category: Bleach
Genre: Canon Rewrite, Espada get a massive boost in competency and the status-quo with the captains doesn't jam itself in, Fix Fic, This part is just Aaroniero and Szayelapporo expanded, we're taking this bit by bit
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-02
Updated: 2017-11-24
Packaged: 2018-12-10 06:37:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 8
Words: 31,874
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11686092
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IceDevice/pseuds/IceDevice
Summary: The first part of a rewrite series about the Hueco Mundo chapter of Bleach. The Espada get a massive boost in competency, power, and skill, and the heroes have a much harder time of it. This one covers Aaroniero and Szayelapporo. Chapter summaries will provide extra information and snipping will be done at points.





	1. Sin Santuario

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The proper start to the Espada begins within the Menos Forest. Aaroniero's powers are expanded, and he provides the first threat among Aizen's elite. Ashido's story changes, and includes a _The Thing_ -esque horror story of events that unfolded at the hands of a monster the group soon meets.

_"Why did you attack me?"_

There was a blade at Rukia's neck. Or rather, there was a blade cutting _into_ Rukia's neck, just deep enough for her to feel a trickle of blood. She breathed heavily, wary. She had lost the fight. Was she going to die now? It didn't make sense. Why save her only to kill her?

The masked stranger hovering over her didn't answer, taking several seconds before he eventually resheathed his sword, confusing her. What the hell was going on?

"Why did you attack me?" She repeated, watching him back several steps away. "What's wrong with you? Why would you save me and then try to _kill_ me?"

When he's far enough away, she stands, wary. 

"Pick up your zanpakuto. I'm not going to attack you again. I know I can trust you now."

"What the hell does that mean? You can trust _me_? It sure doesn't feel like I can trust _you_!" Rukia felt some of her fear flushed away by anger. 

"That was the point." the stranger said, and as Rukia watched, he lifted his Hollow mask away from his face. His face was angular, with narrowed eyes and thin eyebrows, and his hair was a shaggy mess of dark red, nearly brown. There were circles under his eyes.

"My name is Ashido Kano. I'm sorry I attacked you, but I had to be sure."

"Sure of _what_?"

"That you weren't _him_." Ashido walked over to Rukia's zanpakuto, picking it up and handing it back to her. She took it, keeping her eyes focused on his limbs and his sword. 

"I don't suppose you're going to tell me who 'he' is, are you?"

" _Listen_." Ashido pressed, and she lowered her voice, hearing something beyond the walls. Shaking, some sort of vibrations. Something big was happening somewhere nearby in the Menos Forest.

"You can't trust anyone here." Ashido elaborated. "There's a predator here that will attack you when you're most vulnerable. He works in the shadows and he's been lurking here trying to hunt me down. I had to be sure you weren't an impostor. Now I know that you're the real you, because he never would've let me get that close to taking his head off. It also served the purpose of testing you. Even if the hunter weren't around, you can't survive in the Forest of Menos without skill."

The story disturbed Rukia, even past her growing anger at such an unorthodox 'test'. Were Menos and Adjuchas not the only things to be hunted down by here? And if not, was this nameless predator that Ashido described one of Aizen's forces?

"If you don't feel like you can trust me, good. Never fully trust me. I could've been that hunter ready to kill you for real."

"Just who are you, anyway? I've never heard of any Ashido Kano, and I wasn't aware that there were soul reapers on duty in Hueco Mundo."

"There haven't been, not for many years. But now isn't story time. You heard that just a second ago, right?"

"My friends." Rukia breathed earnestly. "I need to go meet up with them."

"You're right. If they keep fighting like that, they're only going to draw more Menos to them. Follow me, I'll go ahead of you, and I'll tell you why I'm here on the way there." Ashido turned to leave the cave they were in, taking out his zanpakuto again and heading for the exit. Rukia trotted after him, breaking into a run as he picked up speed.

"By the way, my name is Ru--"

" _Don't_ tell me your name." Ashido interrupted her. "Or anything about yourself that could be used against you."

* * *

"I've been here for several hundred years." Ashido said, carving the head off of an attacking Adjuchas and landing on a tree branch as he continued his sprint through the Menos Forest. "I followed retreating Hollows back through their garganta, but ended up trapped here. I've been killing Hollows ever since."

"Several hundred years? How have you survived this long?" Rukia asked, following him as he leaped through the branches, dodging cero blasts from a single nearby Gillian. 

"Skill and will to survive."

"That's not what I meant." Rukia responded. _He's got the power of a captain, or at least a bankai-user_ , she thought, watching him slash another Adjuchas that came too close. A soul that powerful would certainly need food, and there was no way that Ashido would have a stocked kitchen he could just peruse at any time. "I meant, what do you do for food? Surely you don't eat the Hollows?"

"No." Ashido said. "I'm not _that_ hungry. ....I do eat the tree bark, though." he admitted. "Doesn't taste quite so terrible after the hundred thousandth time eating it."

Rukia wanted to gag.

"Many of the Hollows that pour into the human world come from this Forest." Ashido said. "I figured if I slew enough of them, I could reduce the number of invasions by Hollows." he said, before glancing back at her.

 _This place seems more like a nest than a forest..._ Rukia thought.

"Tell me, have the number of incidents gone down in the last four hundred years or so?"

Dismayed, Rukia shook her head. "If anything, they've skyrocketed."

Ashido sighed. After a little longer, he stopped. They had come to a sort of clearing. The trees here were thicker and spread farther apart, and the light here was different. Looking up, Rukia could see small holes in the ceiling, through which moonlight was shining down. This was the place where they had sensed the ongoing battle from, but it was empty. It seemed Ichigo, Renji, and the others had already left.

"It seems they're gone already."

"We're going to keep looking though, right?"

"Of course. We'll just have to search elsewhere."

"You know the area better than I do, so keep leading."

Ashido moved off to the left, and Rukia followed. As they passed through the trees, the number of menacing eyes gazing at them through the shadows seemed to diminish, and the sounds of heavy footfalls from Gillians faded into the background. This area was quieter.

"So, what _has_ been happening since I left? What's going on at Soul Society?" Ashido asked.

"Well, the number of Hollow assaults not decreasing can't really be laid at your feet." Rukia explained. "There's been a defection from Soul Society. A captain named Aizen and two cohorts of his left and came here, to Hueco Mundo. They plan to use an army of Arrancars to attack Soul Society soon. Aizen's likely been here, building up his army, for a long time before now. That's probably what's behind the rising number of invasions."

"Arrancars?" Ashido said, curiously. "Aren't those Hollows with their masks removed? I think I've seen less than five of those in the entire time I've been here."

"They're usually very rare." Rukia continued. "But Aizen stole a device called the Hogyoku when he left that's allowed him to turn Hollows directly into Arrancars. If he's been experimenting around with them trying to find a way to do that, it would explain the Hollow population's upswing, and their agitation."

"I see." Ashido said. 

* * *

 They've stopped at a strange place. This clearing is more barren and open than the last one, and there's a ditch running the length of the ground from one end of the clearing to the other. On one side of the ditch, the ground is dotted by stones, some of which have patches of discolored dirt in front of them. Rukia recognized them as gravestones. As Rukia watched, Ashido jumped down from branch to branch, making his way to the floor. She followed him, uneasy.

"This is the site where my squad and I made our base."

"I didn't realize you came here with other people." she said. She wondered how all of that death must've impacted Ashido, and how long he had been alone with only memories of the dead for company.

"No. Walking into Hueco Mundo alone would've been suicide. Of course, it still ended up being more than we were prepared for."

"...Were they all killed by Hollows?" Rukia asked, sensing there was something Ashido wanted to say here. He didn't seem to want to look at her, and was gazing into the distance. She shuffled her feet uncomfortably. She takes a hesitant step forward. Some of the gravestones had names crudely carved into them, others were blank. There were around thirty or forty of them by her count. The hand-crafted graveyard was a morbid display.

"....No. Well, yes, but not just random garden-variety Menos. At first, when we came here, we were badly outmatched. We weren't prepared to end up in a place with so many powerful Hollows without any way to return or to call for reinforcements. We lost a squadmate, then another, and then another. But eventually, we started to get a foothold. We built a base and protected it, and never went off on our own without at least two companions for backup. After we got over our grief, we used the deaths of our squadmates to fuel us to fight harder. After that, and a few dozen years of learning the area, learning the Menos attack patterns, and steadily gaining more power and skill, we thought we were set. That we could protect ourselves from any threat that came our way. And for a while, we could."

"Until?" Rukia prompted, feeling that she was about to get awaited details.

"Until the impostor came. It started with one disappearance. A squad member disappeared during a mission, and came back a few days later. No one suspected anything, just that he'd gotten lost and fought his way out, and we welcomed him back with hugs and pats on the back. Next mission that squadmate went on, he died. So did two other companions, leaving a sole survivor. That survivor came back, grief-shaken. That one died on the next mission he went on, too. The pattern repeated a couple of times, scouts getting slaughtered and leaving only one survivor to return, so we knew that something powerful was out there. We figured it wanted to send a message to us, instill fear in us. None of us wanted to send out any more scouting teams and we were content with just going everywhere in one large group. Our captain though, was suspicious, and sent another team out anyway, and secretly shadowed them with two more squadmates without them knowing. None of us found out what they saw, but two men from the first team came back, saying the captain had been dragged away and they'd only just barely gotten away. We had about five minutes of shock and grief before that captain came crawling back, bloody and half-dead. Said he'd seen one of the squad members eating another. That one of them was a Hollow."

"And then....?" Rukia said, uncertain she wanted to hear the rest of the story.

"Then, it was a game. We knew one of the two who came back and said he'd been dragged away were impostors, just not which one. They were put in a kido barrier, as was the captain while we worked on healing him. None of us knew any kaido, so it was a manual process and slow-going. From then on, one of us began disappearing each night. Then two. Some nights, three. Everyone was scared and hysterical, and the two who came back insisted they were innocent. The paranoia kept rising until they were killed anyway, without any proof, because someone had decided that suspicion was enough, and that since they couldn't tell who was the impostor, it was better to kill both of them. For a time, the disappearances stopped, but it wasn't because they were dead. It was because most of us were too terrified to sleep. I woke up one night when things had calmed down, when it wasn't my watch, and I saw the captain next to one of our sleeping squad mates, sucking him into some....sort of...of maw, some sort of leech-like _thing_ coming out of his arm. I screamed my ass off and woke everyone up. The Hollow that had impersonated our captain had counted on us holding a wounded veteran above suspicion. The man on watch duty had already disappeared. From then on, it was a dwindling party. The Hollow retreated, but no one knew who to trust. It attacked one night, wearing our captain's face again, and let loose, forcing the rest of us that remained to scatter. Was just a matter of picking us off by then. I saw people turn on us who I'd swear hadn't been attacked, until it was clear the beast didn't need to eat us to impersonate us. Whenever we managed to figure the impersonator out, we never could bring ourselves to fight them. By the time there were about seven or eight of us left, we had to move locations every so often because the impostor seemed to know where our hideouts were. Our performance against the regular Hollows dwindled too, and some of the Gillians and Adjuchas picked some of us off as well. I'm the only one left. But I'm not alone. I'm never alone, that foul thing is always out there, and I know it's watching."

Rukia was silent. It was a disturbing story, one that rang all too close to home for her. Loved ones and comrades, taken over and replaced in the night.....but this seemed far beyond what had happened so many years ago with Kaien Shiba. Rukia could only imagine that fear and paranoia.

"I understand why you attacked me earlier, now. I'm sorry this happened to you and your team. Did you make all of these graves yourself?"

"Yes. While I'd like to make that thing pay for taking away my friends, and would if I had the chance, I know I'm no match for it. Instead, I make their graves here."

"You should come back to Soul Society." Rukia said. "It's not safe with a monster like that around."

"We came here with a mission, and that was to stem the flow of Hollows." Ashido said. "Even if I tried to leave, I imagine it would just take that opportunity to corner me at the exit, it's tried that before. When I asked you if the number of Hollow appearances had gone down," he said, "I wasn't just asking to see how well I've done. I wanted to tell my friends about my progress...and that I found someone from Soul Society who can report back about them."

Rukia was spared the task of filling the silence that followed after that response by a thundering crash in the woods nearby, followed by a spike in spiritual pressure.

"My guess is that that's your friends at work. Let's go."


	2. Prey

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Snipping a bit; battle with Guardian proceeds as in canon. Back with Ichigo's group, a glimpse is seen of the predator Ashido described. Please see bottom of chapter notes for a request for information.

"Pesche!"

Pesche was cowering. He ignored his friend, who was also cowering, but less quietly. It was best that the two of them were passed over in all of this chaos, so he intended to be as quiet as possible. As he took a deep breath, an immense cero blast tore apart the ground next to the tree he was hiding behind. A squeal sounded, and Pesche pulled Nel, who was next to him, closer, shielding her with his arm.

Ichigo, Chad, Renji, and Uryu were fighting off the Gillians. None of them had listened when he or Dondochakka protested. Running away, they insisted, would not lead them anywhere so long as the Gillians were in their way and barring their path. Well, Ichigo and Renji seemed to think that. In Uryu's defense, he had been prepared to leave before the other three started to fight anyway. 

This didn't feel good. If things were still the same as they had been the last time he and Dondochakka had been in Las Noches, then the Menos Forest was under a tight watch. It was doubtful that the chaos they were currently causing was going to go unnoticed. Oh, who was he kidding, they'd probably been alerted the moment Runuganga had awoken, as he only did so to block intruders. Pesche sincerely hoped that this little team was intent on sneaking in as quietly as possible, which in itself was an unlikely task. If these people tried to go up against Aizen's army, much less the Espada...

" _Pesche!_ "

"Be quiet, Dondochakka!" he hissed.

" _PESCHE!_ "

"What?!" he answered, turning irritatedly from the chaos he was closely watching. Dondochakka was visibly shaking, and looking upwards towards the ceiling. Pesche's blood ran cold.

The others seemed not to have noticed the Gillian approaching them from behind, ready to blast them with another cero to put down the intruders. But as Pesche looked closer, he saw that it wasn't the Gillian that was making Dondochakka tremble. It was what was behind it. what had seemed to be a swaying tree branch was soon realized to be a tendril-like object, which quickly opened into a maw at the end. As Pesche watched, it closed over the top of the Gillian's head, covering the upper half of its mask.

The Gillian cried out, its head being crushed and oily black Hollow blood bleeding from the cracked mask. The leech-like tendril pulsated, widening itself and drawing more of the beast inside itself, and Pesche observed the surreal sight of a fifty-foot-tall monstrosity being strangled, compacted, and sucked up. The beast's body was reduced to a much smaller mass than should've been possible within the few seconds it had happened. In only a few seconds, the entire thing had been eaten.

Pesche looked down. Nel, too, was staring up at the tendril, petrified. It was clear she recognized the threat.

"Dondochakka, come with me. We have to get Nel and the others out of here as quickly as possible."

* * *

 "Slaying him will be the last thing I do in the Menos Forest."

Rukia was surprised. It seemed she had gotten through to Ashido after all. The two of them stood before a large Adjuchas, who intended to bar their way. He had introduced himself as the guardian of the Menos Forest, and one with the authority to control the Gillians. Having dispatched his troops, the two of them now stood ready to face him.

"I thought you said that it was your duty to stay? And that you weren't strong enough to fight your way out?"

"I'm not." Ashido admitted, adjusting his stance. "But so far, I haven't seen any sign of the predator lately. I feel like if we can make it through fast enough, we can escape without getting our way barred. But when we do, you're going to tell me everything that's going on in the Soul Society and Hueco Mundo, okay?"

Rukia placed a hand on her own zanpakuto, drawing it. "Agreed."

Ashido leaped forward, the guardian rushing to meet him. Rukia readied herself, calling out the name of her shikai.

" _Dance, Sode no Shirayuki!_ "

* * *

"Why are we running?"

The seven of them were sprinting as fast as their legs could carry them. They were in a tunnel, a hollowed out area in one of the walls of the massive caves that made up the Forest. None of them had any idea where they were or where they were going, which was not optimal, but it was better than staying put. Pesche didn't care where they were so long as there was as much distance as possible between them and the tendril they'd seen.

"There's an Espada here, a dangerous one!"

"Well then, let's turn around and--" Ichigo started, but Pesche cut him off.

"This isn't your average Arrancar! Trust me, this guy is _bad news_! If we stick around here, there's no telling what will happen!"

"I've fought Espada before, I can hold my own!" Ichigo protested.

"That's a lie, Ichigo, you haven't held your own any of the three times you've fought Espada." Uryu interjected.

"He's kinda right." Renji followed up. "Grimmjow's nearly killed you twice and you didn't do great against the big one."

Ichigo was ready to retort angrily, but Pesche cut him off again.

"Besides, you wanted to rescue your friend, didn't you?"

Ichigo opened his mouth and closed it several times.

"If you wanna rescue this girl, it's best you get into Las Noches as quickly as possible!"

"--Without getting into every fight that comes our way." Uryu followed up, nodding. "We still don't know anything about the Espada except the three we've encountered so far, and even then, we don't know much. Besides, we had this problem before, Ichigo--remember when we were trying to rescue Rukia, and you wanted to say and fight that thug, Ganju Shiba?"

"Don't bring that back up now! I learned my lesson!"

"Then stop arguing."

"Okay, okay! Let's go!"

They continued running, the cavern walls getting narrower around them. Pesche wondered if they'd made enough distance between them and the Espada they were fleeing from. He was starting to get winded, and a nice break would do his body some good. He played forever-tag with Nel a lot, so he had enough endurance to keep running, but he'd never sprinted this long with this much energy before. As soon as they could afford to rest, he'd really like to.

"Hey, you guys should keep an eye out for spiritual pressure, okay?" he suggested as they ran, starting to pant a little. "If we sense any, it's probably your friend's, since we know our enemy is behind us."

"I know Rukia's spiritual energy signature like the back of my hand." Renji answered. "If she pops up, we'll know and make a beeline for her." 

* * *

 

"Ichigo! Renji!"

Rukia ran forward, recognizing the figures of a man with orange hair and another with red hair. As she approached, she also recognized Chad, Uryu, Pesche, Dondochakka, and Nel. All of them appeared tired, but unhurt. Behind her, Ashido ran as well, though allowing her to keep the lead and with his sword in both hands.

"It's her!"

Both groups stopped short, neither one seeming to want to get too close to strangers in this unfamiliar territory. It was Renji that ran forward the rest of the way, leaning down to take her by the shoulder and look her in the eye. "Are you okay? Where've you been?"

Ichigo interjected before Rukia could answer. "And who the hell is that guy behind you?" he asked.

"This," Rukia answered, uncomfortably looking behind her and seeing Ashido's impassive face, "is Ashido Kano. He's a soul reaper, and he's been here for many years, he can lead us to the Forest exit."

Ichigo seemed to relax a bit, though Renji was looking mistrustful as he leaned back and stood away from her. "Why is there a soul reaper down here? We weren't even aware that this place existed until an hour and a half ago."

"I got lost in here, just like the rest of you." Ashido clarified. Rukia wished he would put his sword away, although she understood why he didn't. "Would you mind telling me if any of you have separated from your group since you got here?"

"No! All of us have been together except for that soul reaper girl." came an interjection from Dondochakka. "We've been looking for her all this time."

"Why would it be important if we separated?" asked Uryu. Before Ashido could answer, a rumble shook the cave, cutting him off. A second later, the sounds of roars reverberated off the walls, and Rukia sensed several massive spiritual pressures coming their way.

"I'll tell you later. Right now we need to move--the Guardian must've given the Gillians a final order before we killed him. They're converging on us."

"I'm not sure I trust--" Renji tried to interject, but Rukia cut him off.

"We have to go, now's not the time."

"You said this guy knew a way out of here?" Ichigo asked, nodding towards Ashido. 

"That's right. Follow me." 

Ashido took his sword in both hands and began to run towards the nearest tunnel. Rukia was right behind him, followed by Renji and Ichigo, with Chad and Uryu behind them and Pesche and Dondochakka bringing up the rear, with Rukia noticing that Nel was being carried by Dondochakka as they ran when she looked back. They ran for some time, coverning an unknown expanse of the forest. Rukia figured they were lucky to be in a tunnel where the Gillians couldn't reach them, but also feared being in one if any of them decided to fire at them from outside. If they did, the cavern could collapse on them.

The tunnel began to narrow, until for a few seconds, it seemed as though there was barely enough room for one person at a time to get between the walls. Eventually, it widened out, and the group turned right, where the path slid downward into a larger, slightly round cavern. The rumbling increased; it sounded as though the Gillians knew where they were, even if they couldn't see them. Something fell onto Rukia's head, and she realized it was dirt from the ceiling. They needed to keep moving.

"Are you sure this is the right way?" came Uryu's voice from behind them.

"Yes." Ashido answered without looking behind him. "I don't know what you intend to do once you're out of the Forest, though."

"We're going to rescue Orihime!" Ichigo answered from behind them, prompting Rukia to pipe up as they ran.

"One of our friends is being held by Aizen's forces. We can't leave without her."

"Well, that's all well and good, but--" Ashido began, but a tremendous _crash!_ him cut him off, making him skid to a stop.

The wall ahead of them had cracked, bulging forward as if to smash the group between it and the opposite wall.

"Fuck! Lower your spirit energy to a minimum!"

Something was outside, attempting to smash its way in. Ashido backed up, Rukia following his lead and causing the group as a whole to haphazardly make their way backwards. Not a moment too soon, as in the next second the wall was blown to bits. 

_CRASH!_

The light streaming into the newly created gap in the right wall revealed the colossal hand of a Gillian, wrinkled and gray and clawed, pawing at the ground where Ashido had been seconds earlier. After a few seconds of vain pawing, and the group continuing to back away from the destroyed wall as quietly as possible, the hand withdrew itself. It was quickly replaced with a shadow, revealed a second later to be the nose of a Gillian mask. The creature was poking its head into the gap made by its invading limb, attempting to locate its prey. If their spiritual pressures and energy signatures had vanished, and it couldn't see them, then would it leave?

For a few moments, it appeared that was so. Without warning, however, Rukia found herself being blasted backward by a pressure wave spilling out into the breach in the wall. She slid backwards, bumping against someone she thought was Renji, judging by the arms pulling her up from under her own. In front of her, a wave of red energy was pouring through the breach, and was swept away from them, simultaneously blasting apart the right wall for the next seventy or eighty feet and carving a wide ditch into the left wall opposite. The Gillians were attempting to blast them to bits with a cero.

"Let's move!" she said, jumping upright and hurrying forward. "If there's only one way out of the Forest, it won't do any good to try coming back later!" It seemed their guide agreed with her, because there was no protest as she launched herself into the remains of the tunnel, feeling the exposing light and the dozens of gazes trained on her by the enemy. Looking to her right as she ran, she saw them, enormous and clustered among the trees. All of them were gazing their way.

Ashido ran alongside her, but reached out a hand to stop her. Up ahead, the tunnel floor dropped off into open air, destroyed. 

"Up there!" Ashido pointed, his finger aimed up into space. Rukia saw that the ceiling was more intact, far more so than the ground, and that the tunnel had curved upwards. The Gillian's blast had cut through the tunnel horizontally, destroying wall and floor but leaving the slope upward untouched. That wouldn't remain the case for long though, if they didn't hurry. At her right, she could see the tell-tale red glow of another cero being charged. 

"Mikadzu--!" Ichigo began, lifting his sword over his head, but he was stopped again by Uryu.

"Don't! You'll tear the floor out from under us if those blasts collide at a range this close!"

He was readying his bow, taking aim. "The other eight of you cross that gap, hurry!"

Ashido went first, backing up and taking a running start before launching himself off. He crossed the gap without issue, then turned around, standing at the edge of the chasm and holding his arms out to catch the next one. Next in line, Rukia took the same running start.

It wasn't possible to make the jump in one go. She was just a few feet from the edge of the gap when she began to fall, creating a reishi platform underneath her to give herself a second jump. Her hand met Ashido's, which pulled her up onto the edge. She turned, observing the happenings behind her. Uryu was firing a large volley of arrows into the glowing red orb that was the cero being gathered at the Gillian's mouth. Each arrow appeared to chip away at it, like shaving off bits of a glass layer. The assault seemed to be stifling its growth into a proper blast.

Renji was next, and when he leapt, Rukia caught him in one hand and Ashido in the other, keeping him steady while pulling him up. Ichigo was next, and made the jump without any complications as well.

" _Licht Regen!_ "

Uryu's shoulders glowed as he gathered energy, and a stream of arrows far more numerous than his previous assault were blasted forward, continuing to pummel at the shrinking cero orb until--

Rukia shielded her pained eyes against the sudden flash, accompanied by the sound of an explosion and a lot of smoke. When it cleared enough to see, she observed that the cero seemed to have been forced to backfire, exploding in the Gillian's face. It descended past the opened wall and out of sight, but not before she caught the fact that the upper half of its head had been blown off. Uryu did not move, but instead continued his stream of arrows, attacking the Gillians behind the one he'd just slain, all of whom were eager to move in now that one was no longer in the way.

Chad made his jump next, but behind him, Pesche and Dondochakka seemed reluctant to move. Nel was being held in Pesche's arms in a tight grasp.

"W-Wait a minute! I don't know if we can make that jump! And Nel and us can't stand on air like you can!"

"Here!" 

Renji drew his zanpakuto, running his hand along the blade and calling its release command. "Howl, Zabimaru!"

Pesche shrieked and Dondochakka cowered as Renji shot the chain blade towards them. It wrapped around the circumference of their bodies several times, enveloping all three inside its tight binding. Recalling it, Renji dragged Pesche, Dondochakka, and Nel across the gap in one go. With all of them having crossed, only Uryu was left.

"Uryu! C'mon!" Renji called. Abandoning his assault, Uryu turned towards the group and sprinted to the edge, leaping off and crossing the gap with _hirenkyaku_. Rukia could hear the footfalls of Ashido, already on his way the moment Uryu had connected with the edge. Ichigo was faster than she was, and had drawn ahead of her by the time she turned to follow him, with Renji right next to her and Chad behind.

The nine of them fled through the tunnel, the roars of the giants behind them at their backs. It didn't seem like they were getting much further away from the beasts chasing them, or if they were, it wasn't by much.

The tunnel twisted and turned, moved up and down, was dimly lit in some places and nearly pitch-black in others, sometimes bare and sometimes with the petrified branches of the gargantuan trees poking through cracks in the walls. After what seemed like miles of running without any real landmark, the path they were taking began to widen. The light began to show that the rock underfoot was a lighter color than the dark grey they'd been exposed to so far, and there was sand scattered over it. Was this it? Were they nearing the exit to the Forest?

Ashido turned a hard left, and the tunnel widened exponentially, becoming a rough hallway long enough to accommodate a city street. There was a brilliant white light at the other end, which had to be the exit. 

"Up there! C'mon!

The light brightened as the group rushed towards it. All of a sudden, however, Ashido stopped, so abruptly that Rukia crashed into Ichigo's back, who seemed to have crashed into Ashido's. 

"What's going on? Why are we stopping?"

Ashido didn't answer. Agitated, Rukia moved herself so as to peer around the men in front of her. Behind her, she could hear cowering from the Arrancars.

"Ashido?"

There was a shadow where one hadn't been before. Someone was standing in their way, blocking the light a ways down the tunnel. Ashido had an arm held out, preventing them from getting any further and preventing Rukia in particular from getting a clear view. When she leaned forward and down a little attempting to see past his arm, she thought that she could make out a shihakusho. A soul reaper, then? As she peered, she saw the silhouette take a step forward.

"Stay back!" Ashido yelled. Rukia couldn't tell if the panicked tone was addressing the group, or the stranger. Regardless, it continued to approach with an easy gait. The silhouette solidified into a definite body and face. It seemed to be a man, albeit with soft features and blond hair pulled back into a bun. She could see sideburns. The eyes were still framed in shadow, however. If there was anything special about him, Rukia couldn't tell. As she stared, his head turned to look at her. Instantly, Rukia found her view blocked again, this time by Ashido stepping in front of her.

" _HEY_!" Ashido roared behind him, turning back, and Rukia jumped, tensing. "Take your friends and get out of here! Run past him!"

"What?!" She yelled in response. Ichigo and the others were looking from the stranger, to Ashido, to herself. "What happened to getting out of here? You have to go back to Soul Society!"

"I will! I'll catch up with you later! Now hurry, run past him!"

"What, and you're staying behind?!" she said, incredulous. She was now fighting with Chad, who had taken it upon himself to try and obey Ashido's orders with her in tow, aided by Uryu. The two were held up by Ichigo and Renji, who seemed as confused as they were at the idea that the eight of them were supposed to leave one person behind and flee. "Is that him?! Is that the predator?!"

"Yes! NOW GO!"

"It doesn't make sense to leave." Renji said, baring his teeth. "We outnumber this enemy easily! There's no way we couldn't defeat him!"

"Not with a horde of Gillians on our tails! Your group needs to go, now!"

"We still have--" Ichigo said, but he was cut off.

"You have a child present! Even if we can take the Gillians and this guy at the same time, we can't protect her while we do it!" 

Rukia's heart sank to realize he was right. If they did indeed engage a horde of Gillians intent on killing them while trying to defeat an enemy of unknown skills and powers, there was no way they could keep Nel from getting injured or killed in the crossfire. And from the unpleasant story she'd been told, it was much wiser to get them as far away as possible. There was one exit; their backs were to the group of giants trying to get to them, ahead of them was a relatively small enemy they could run past if they were quick enough. Still, the thought of their entire group facing that, even short of the Arrancars for help, was much preferable to letting a single soldier carry that enormous battle out.

"I still think we should stay." She said, biting her lip. "We can help you."

"Don't you have someone to rescue?" Ashido answered, and again Rukia felt the stab of logic in that. They didn't have time for this, even if they had the capabilities. 

"You will never make it out of here if you insist on fighting! The longer you people stay here, the more endangered you are. This is not the type of enemy numbers can overwhelm! I'll catch up with you as soon as I can, I swear! Now leave! Hurry!"

Ichigo and Renji seemed to have been swayed. Despite herself, she found her feet moving. The group began to shuffle forward, then began to run as a unit the way it had been before stopping. The tension in Rukia's muscles increased exponentially as they neared the stranger that looked like a soul reaper, who had so far made neither any comment nor any move from where he was at all, standing with an unerring patience. Her eyes connected with his as she ran. He raised an arm, as if to cast a spell or draw the sword in the belt at his waist, but before anything could happen, there was a flash of bone and fur and steel along with a battle cry, and she saw that the blond man had taken his eyes off of her to cross swords with Ashido.

They sprinted by unaccosted, the light ahead of them growing brighter and the roars of the Gillians behind them growing fainter, to be replaced with the yells of two doing battle. Rumbles and tremors were shaking the tunnel, however, letting Rukia know that the monstrosities had not been shaken off. Very quickly, the sounds behind her escalated and joined the other sounds in the implicit shaking and weakening of the Forest's walls. She wanted to look behind her, to yell that he had better keep his promise to catch up with them and not to fall to temptation and try to settle a grudge. But she knew he could not afford distractions at this moment.

She succumbed, however, when she heard a series of cracks and crashes directly behind her. She turned her head over her shoulder, and past the Arrancars trailing behind her, saw the ceiling caving in, crumbling in pieces until it formed a wall blocking off her view of the battle they were leaving behind.

" _ASHIDO!_ "

"Leave it!" said Renji, who now had a hold of her arm. "He's got captain-level spirit energy. A pile of rocks isn't going to stop him from escaping if he wants to!"

Though she gave no more protest, her thoughts as she came to the exit of the tunnel were of how Ashido had insisted that he was no match for the nightmare he'd described.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, if you're reading this, I need help with some translations. Google Translate is a sorry motherfucker, and virtually useless if I want anything I write to sound the least bit authentic. I'm looking for anyone that knows any Japanese and could give me some romanized attack calls? I intend to transform Ichigo's arsenal from here on out, and I want to give him some new attacks. I need attack calls in Japanese for:
> 
> "crescent moon"  
> "full moon"  
> "new moon"  
> "blue moon (the phenomena, not a literal translation)"  
> "crater smash"  
> and if possible, a better or at least different translation for "moon fang heaven-piercer", preferably one that invokes piercing and thrusts.
> 
> Any help is appreciated! Thank you!


	3. Enclosed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ichigo and company make their way into Las Noches, but find themselves unable to leave. The group has no option but to move forward, but soon, they are separated.

Renji was out of breath.

He had been running for quite a while, and they hadn't even fought any Espada yet. First he and Rukia had needed to rush to catch up to those fools Ichigo, Chad, and Uryu who'd gotten halfway to Las Noches without even giving Soul Society a call, and then they'd been running around the Menos Forest for the past hour and a half. It was times like these where Renji sorely missed having the transportation that Bawabawa had provided for a short time while they were above the sands of Hueco Mundo. Hopefully they wouldn't need to run much more today, and if they did, maybe it would be in long hallways or clearings? He looked over at Rukia, who was running alongside him. The look on her face of distress made him worry. 

As they ran, the sounds of the battle behind them and the many Gillians faded into nothing, until the only sound was the clatter of their feet against the stone. The light ahead only got brighter and brighter, until Renji had to shield his eyes with his arm. Eventually, things dimmed out, and he and the group slowed down as it became abruptly clear they were about to reach the end of the hallway. The immensely bright white lights, he realized, were coming from mining lights situated on the ground in the corners of the hall. He realized that this must be the reason they could see in the tunnel. Behind the lights, the hallway angled inward, becoming smaller and leading to a large metal door. Rather than a handle or knob, there was a large wheel in the center from which two bars protruded, like a very large deadbolt.

"This seems to be it. Let's go through." came Ichigo's voice.

"Wait a second, Ichigo--" Uryu began, but Ichigo was already approaching the door, before gripping the bars and twisting. To Renji's surprise, the bars moved after some effort. They twisted ninety degrees sideways, and Ichigo stepped one foot back, dragging the door open. To Renji's relief, nothing jumped out or was waiting for them behind it. From what he could see, difficult as it was to do so with the crowd of people around him, the hallway ahead was similarly dimly lit, with lights sparsely placed along the ceiling.

"No use waiting." he commented. "Let's go."

They filed through the door, and Renji ended up one of the last ones out, alongside the Arrancars. This hallway was much smaller, and they could not completely sprint without falling all over each other. It was uneasy for him, as he couldn't see very much past everyone in front of him. _They'd better be watching themselves up in front_ , he thought. It occurred to him that anything could come from behind, and all bunched up like this, it would be difficult for the group to respond to it in time. As he ran, Renji looked back behind him. Nothing but the door.

"Hey," he interjected, turning his head towards Pesche, Dondochakka, and Nel as they continued jogging down the new corridor, "shouldn't you three be in the front? You should know Las Noches better than we do, after all."

"We've never been down in this area before!" Pesche answered, voice irritated. "We already told you that when we were back in the Menos Forest!"

"Oh, right." he answered sheepishly. 

They came to the end of this hallway, and now there were two doors to choose from, one directly ahead, and one closer on the right. Both were more like traditional doors, with handles.

"We should stay together, right?" came Rukia's voice up ahead.

"Yeah," Chad agreed. "We should keep it that way as often as possible. We're in enemy territory, so splitting up when stronger enemies are waiting sounds like a bad idea. Let's just check each door, then come back for the second one if the first doesn't go anywhere useful."

Ichigo was again the one to move first, checking the door ahead first, Zangetsu held forward at his side defensively. Renji, despite his height, still struggled to see what laid beyond. "What is it?" he demanded.

"Just an office." Ichigo announced. "No moor doors, but some computers. Should we check them?"

"No." Rukia piped up. "This is probably an office for whoever monitors the Menos Forest. It wouldn't have any information pertaining to Orihime."

"Let's try the other one, then."

Ichigo did so, and called back to the others. "Stairs!"

No one waited to discuss, instead moving in. When Renji walked through after Chad, he found that they were in a stairwell. They continued their run forward, now a climb, as fast as they could considering the stairway was rather steep. Renji was relieved to find that there weren't different floors and doors within this room. The next door they went to was at the top of the stairs, and opened into yet another hallway. He started to wonder when they'd reach anything that actually looked distinct.

As they continued moving, turning a left, and then a right, Renji's thoughts returned to Ashido Kano, the soul reaper Rukia had vouched for that they'd left behind. Not only him, but the strange nameless person he'd insisted they leave him behind to fight. If he strained himself, he could still feel faint traces of at least one. He thought it must be Ashido's, since he hadn't gotten a good feel for the spiritual pressure of the stranger. _What an idiot_ , he thought, even though he realized the logic in getting out of the area, _we should've stayed and fought_. Running in a big group like this, it felt like they actually stood a reasonable chance of combating whatever came their way. Sure, the Arrancars might not be willing to fight for them, but they could still count on five combatants on their own side, at least. There was nothing they couldn't take down with their combined power.

"Hey, Ru--" he started, but a voice overpowered his question.

"Hey!"

He abandoned the question as he saw that they were now filing into a very, very small room. It quickly became crowded and then cramped, and Renji left the door open behind him even as he attempted to squeeze himself into the room, making sure to go before the Arrancars. 

"Move over!"

"Stop pushing me!"

"Make some room, will ya?"

"What's with this door?" Ichigo's voice sounded from near the opposite corner of the room. "It won't open!" Renji heard a mechanical _bap!_ and a _beep!_ , followed by more annoyed complaints from Ichigo. " _'Cannot unlock, please reseal'_ ?"

"I know what this is!" Came Dondochakka's voice after they were all finally squeezed in. "It's probably an antechamber! This should lead us into the fortress. You just have to close the door behind us to open the one in front of us!"

Behind Renji, Pesche pulled the door behind him shut. As Dondochakka had said, once it was closed, the door ahead beeped, and Renji caught the flashing of a green light. The group burst out, but quickly stopped a little ways ahead.

"The hell?" 

They were in a long, glass tunnel. Up ahead of them, the tunnel changed to dark grey metal walls, but the interesting thing was what they could see outside. The fortress that they had previously seen before encountering the sand guardian Runuganga was now _much_ closer than before, enough that trying to see the tops of the walls made Renji's neck hurt. It had already looked massive before, but now it seemed utterly enormous. Behind it, the dark sky of Hueco Mundo was visible again, and before it, so were the white sands.

"We must've come a long way." he muttered. "Let's keep going. We should be in the fortress itself soon if we hurry along this route." He said. They continued walking, headed for the end of the tunnel. While they ran, Renji wondered if they'd already been discovered and there were more Arrancars waiting for them. Probably, given that the sand guardian's appearance was probably a big alarm bell for Las Noches. He also tried to think back on the question he'd intended to ask Rukia before getting into the antechamber, and knew that it concerned Ashido. As he thought, however, a realization came to him.

"Hey! I can't sense Ashido's spiritual pressure anymore!"

" _What?!_ " came Rukia's alarmed voice from up ahead. 

"He can't have lost that quickly, right?" came Ichigo's voice from next to her. "He had captain-level power, easy. We've barely been gone five minutes, if that!"

"Could he really have lost that quickly?" Chad asked. "Should we go back?"

"Everybody be quiet!" Uryu yelled over them. All of them looked his way, and Ichigo began to protest again. All questions about Ashido stopped when Uryu drew his  _Heilig Bolen_ , and more questions started. Renji nearly tripped over Pesche trying to back away from him and away from the firing side of the bow.

"The hell do you think you're doing?!"

"Back up, everyone." Uryu answered, but a _Heilig Pfeil_ was generated. More scrambling to get out of the way ensued, after which, Uryu let the arrow fly. It flew the short four feet from his bow to the ceiling, embedding itself in the now cracked glass of the hallway. Three more arrows were prepared, which Uryu shot, smashing through the glass and raining shards down at Renji's feet. 

"Would you mind explaining?!" Renji asked angrily. One more arrow was shot, which flew through the gap in the glass hallway. 

"Look!" Uryu said, pointing in the direction of the arrow he had fired. The group turned their attention to the hole Uryu had made, and peered beyond it. When Renji looked closely, he could see the glimmer of bluish-white that was Uryu's arrow, hovering in midair. Although it seemed to be stationary and held up by nothing, if Renji squinted, he thought he could see the head of the arrow piercing something. The air around it seemed to be displaced slightly, and discolored, an off-white against the inky darkness of Hueco Mundo's sky. As Renji watched, the arrow began to fizzle and dissolve.

"Sekkiseki." Uryu said, answering the unasked question. "There's a sekkiseki barrier covering this fortress. It must have a shakonmaku, just like the Seireitei. It'd be quite odd if it didn't."

"You needed to break the glass just to prove that?" Chad muttered.

"I needed to break the glass to test a guess of mine, which has turned out to be correct."

"And what's this 'guess' you're so sure about?" Ichigo interjected. "Hurry up and explain it so we can get back to searching for Orihime."

"My guess is that this shakonmaku operates differently from the one covering the Seireitei. In Soul Society, the shakonmaku only repels things from the outside and keeps them from coming in. It works the same way with spirit energy and spiritual pressure: if you're in Seireitei, you can sense things outside of it, but if you're outside of it, you can't sense what's inside. When we were in the antechamber, I was watching for Ashido's spiritual pressure too, and noticed it suddenly cut off. Not as though he'd been killed, but as if it had been blocked, and this is why. This shakonmaku repels both ways. One like that would need more energy to be kept stable. My other guess is that that's what the antechamber is for. The repulsive energy given off by the sekkiseki wall can connect to itself along one door or the other, but if both doors were open, it'd create a breach in the wall."

"I don't remember that there!" piped up an alarmed Pesche. "Are you saying we'd have slammed right into the wall if we'd kept heading for Las Noches from the front outside?"

"Why would they design it like that, though?" Ichigo asked. "Aren't they a military unit? Wouldn't they need to be able to exit their own fortress?"

"Not necessarily." Uryu responded, his bow disappearing. "The Espada are able to open gargantas on their own, we've seen that much. So a physical barrier around the fortress probably isn't much of a problem to them when they need to leave it."

"Wait a minute." Renji piped up, nerves getting tense and refusing to show it in his voice. No fear, no showing fear. "Isn't the garganta we came through on the other side of that barrier? How are we going to get back? The Menos Forest is one-way."

There was silence for a long time. Nobody seemed to have an answer to that question. They were heading directly into the nest of their enemy, with no way back or out, no way to call for backup, and with hostile, immensely powerful opponents waiting for them, without even counting Aizen himself. Ichigo and himself were the only ones with roughly captain-level power, and that was being generous when applied to himself. Suddenly the eight--well, five--of them didn't seem like such an unstoppable force now that they knew they were trapped in the home of the enemy. Had been trapped, as a matter of fact, ever since getting sucked into the Menos Forest.

"Maybe when we find an Espada, we can beat him and force him to open up a garganta back to Seireitei?" Ichigo suggested. It wasn't perfect, and it didn't seem likely, but it was a suggestion, and it warmed a bit of the cold fear that had suddenly penetrated the group. 

"Yeah." Renji agreed, letting out a deep breath. "We'll do that. Let's keep going, instead of sitting here like ducks just talking."

With that, they continued moving, starting a run a little ways off after they got going. Soon, the glass hallway was gone, replaced with dark metal. At first, light was not an issue, as there was moonlight streaming through the glass half of the tunnel that lit the metal half. However, after several minutes of running, and several curves in the hallway, it was no longer enough. Renji could barely see the others in front of him after some time, and was getting a foreboding feeling about the darkness around them. He was just thinking about telling the group to stop so one of them could create a light with some kido when a scream rang out.

" _Aaagh!_ "

"Rukia!" came Ichigo's voice.

"Rukia?!" came Renji's own, as fear overtook him again. He pushed his way past the Arrancars, Uryu, and Chad, and yelped when he felt his foot fall into empty air. Before he could tumble into a pitfall he'd been unable to see, he felt his arm grabbed. He looked up, dangling and unable to see much of anything except bright orange hair. Ichigo was on the other side of the gap, and dragged him up onto the edge.

"RUKIA?!" Renji called again, directing his attention towards the hole he'd just nearly fallen into. There was no answer. Panicking, Renji directed his attention towards Ichigo. " _Why didn't you grab her too_?!"

"She was ahead of me! Neither of us saw the hole and I barely got across it!"

"Goddamn it--Shakkaho!"

Ichigo cursed and brought an arm up to defend himself, but there was no need. Renji was holding forth a small, glowing red ball of energy that smoked ominously, threatening to explode. Renji was using a small kido spell as a light to better see in the dark. Keeping it shielded with his hand so that it didn't accidentally go off in his face, and creating dozens of shadows on the walls, he moved the burning ball over to the spot next to him that he'd nearly fallen into. The red light showed a square hole that extended from wall to wall, about six feet across. He could not see the bottom.

"RUKIA?! RUKIA, ARE YOU THERE?! CAN YOU HEAR ME???" he called down the hole. The others joined him in shouting for Rukia.

"Rukia?"

"Rukia!"

"Hey, Rukia!"

"Rukia!" piped Nel's voice after the rest.

There was still no answer.

" _Shit_! Not again!" Renji said past gritted teeth.

"Do you think that was a trap, or the enemy targeting us?" Uryu asked.

"I don't think it really matters." Chad said.

"I'm going down there after her." Renji said, crouching down and preparing to lower himself into the hole. 

"Wait! What about not splitting up?! Didn't we just decide on that a few minutes ago?" Ichigo interjected incredulously.

"I don't care about that!" Renji snarled. "If the enemy's going to pick us off one by one, we can't just keep moving when someone gets yanked away! We have to hurry down there and find Rukia, before something nasty finds her and gets the better of her!"

"Then let me go with you." Uryu said, stepping forward. 

"Hang on. Are you splitting off, too?" Ichigo asked, sounding angry.

"Yes. Renji's right." Uryu answered. "Better two small groups than one large one and a solitary member vulnerable. Renji and I will track down and locate Rukia, and then we'll do our best to find our way back to you. Until then, stay with the Arrancars, they'll know the landscape better than we will." he said.

"Can't we just all go--"

" _We are NOT taking Nel down that scary hole!_ " came an indignant Pesche's voice. "Are you nuts?"

"No way!" Dondochakka said. "We're stayin' up here."

"It's a good plan, Ichigo." Chad assured him.

Renji could hear by the noises behind him that Ichigo was not happy with this arrangement. He wasn't happy with it either, but this was what he was going to do. "Are you ready?" he called up behind him, after letting his legs fall into the hole and holding himself up onto the edge with his fingers.

"Ready." he heard.

Renji pushed off the edge, letting go. Almost immediately, he saw a flurry of white, and saw Uryu falling beside him.

" _YOU JACKASSES BETTER BE CAREFUL!_ " came the voice of the substitute soul reaper.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have decided to tentatively go forward with the following names for Ichigo's abilities:  
> Bankai name: Kuroitaiyo Zangetsu, "black sun slaying moon".  
> Getsuga Tenshou becomes Mikadzuki, "crescent moon".  
> Black Getsuga Tenshou becomes Kuromikadzuki, "black crescent moon".
> 
> Ichigo will also gain a few new abilities, such as:  
> Mangetsu, "full moon".  
> Shingetsu, "new moon".  
> Getsunokureta, "moon crater".  
> Getsuga Tenshou returns, but as a finishing move. These will be properly established later on. Check the first chapter of Seis Capitulos for more.


	4. Encounters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The battles finally start. Rukia comes face-to-face with an old memory, while the rescue group are forced into individual battles with the Privaron Espada.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Snipping a bit; Ichigo's and Chad's encounters with their Privaron Espada take place together in the same room, while Uryu and Renji duel theirs separately.

“ _Rukia?!_ ”

“Rukia! If you can hear us, answer!”

“Rukiaaaa!” rang out Renji’s voice into the darkness.

They were running through extremely dimly-lit corridors. The lighting here was better than it had been above, but not by much. He could see Uryu ahead of him, framed in shadow. Where the light was coming from, he wasn’t sure, but he was grateful for it. At this rate, they might just be able to see any giant holes in the floor they came across.

So far, they’d been running down a singular hallway. Although it twisted and turned at points, it never branched off, nor were there ever any doors that he could see. They continued to call for Rukia, but never was there any sign of her.

“You think they’re watching us?” he asked Uryu.

“No doubt about it.” came the answer. “I’m sure they’re waiting for an opportunity to split us up.”

There was still the cold feeling of fear in Renji’s gut. The enemy seemed to have complete control of their location even though no one had showed up in person yet. There was the lingering thought in the back of his mind that they could end up in any sort of situation and be completely unable to prevent it. What if their invisible opponents locked them into a sealed room with no oxygen? So many easy ways to dispatch them without them being able to see it coming or do anything about it.

“Wait.”

Renji crashed into Uryu’s back, who went flying forward. “What the hell?” he complained, untangling himself from the Quincy. “Don’t say ‘wait’ and stop at the same time!”

“Get off me!” Uryu said angrily, shoving him away. The both of them stood up, dusting themselves off. “Look up ahead.”

Renji did so, and found that there was a door at the end of the hallway.

“Is that it? Is something special about it?”

“No, but it’s the first door we’ve come to since the one at the antechamber.” Uryu said. “We need to be careful going through it. You don’t want to fall into another trap, do you?”

“What I _want_ is to find Rukia, so let’s go.” Renji said. He joined Uryu in marching forward, zanpakuto drawn, and positioning themselves on either side of the door. It didn’t look any different that any other door, if a bit thick and heavy. Renji took the right, ready to pull it open, and Uryu took the left, aiming with his bow. Uryu silently signaled 3, then 2, then 1, and at 0, Renji yanked, pulling the door open.

Nothing came flying out. Renji got out from behind the door, peering inside.

“Pitch black.” Uryu commented.

Indeed it was. The small amount of light within their hallway, which was already unsourced and unexplained, seemed to vanish unnaturally fast as it poured into the room ahead. From what they could see, this room was smaller, barely big enough to fit the both of them from wall to wall.

“Do we go in?” Uryu asked.

“No other way forward.” Renji said.

“Alright, but leave the door open.” Uryu answered.

Renji obeyed as he followed Uryu into the room, Uryu’s nocked arrow providing a small ring of light. They traveled slowly down the length of what seemed to be just another hallway. Eventually though, they passed by the length of light provided by the hallway behind them through the open door. After a minute or two of walking, it was clear that they still could not see the end of the room.

“Still there, Renji?”

“Yeah.”

“Could you make a light? I don’t want to fire this arrow forward in case it hits something important.”

Renji nodded, cupping his hands together. “Hado thirty-one, _Shakkaho_.” he said, watching as a small fireball formed within his hands, about the size of a grapefruit before burning down to the size of a large marble. Keeping it safe within his hands, he held it out, trying to get more light on the walls.

“Want me to throw it forward? I don’t think one this small will hurt anything.”

“Go ahead.”

Holding his palm out, Renji aimed it down the hall, and shot it forward. It flew some forty feet, lighting the hallway on each side of it, before falling to the ground and sparking out.

_Movement._

_–-!_

“Renji!”

His sword came up just in time. From the end of the hallway, where a silhouette had shifted into view with the dying spell, something came hurtling down the hall past Uryu. It connected with Renji’s sword, and as he was pushed back, skidding down the length of the room backwards trying to push it off, he saw that it was some sort of large wheel, spinning and sending sparks out from where it was pressing against his blade.

“ _Welcome to Las Noches, boys_.” came a woman’s voice from down the hallway.

Renji finally managed to gain a foothold, some fifteen feet past his original position, and pushed back the wheel, which retracted itself back down the hallway. Renji saw Uryu shoot his arrow, but did not see whether it hit the enemy. A grinding noise, like enormous gears moving, drowned out any noise. A second later, a wall descended, cutting off the rest of the hallway from Renji’s vision.

“Uryu?! Uryu!!”

More grinding, and the floor shook hard enough to send Renji crashing to his feet. This did not stop him for long, as he rushed to the wall, pressing his ear against it. “URYU!”

“It’s no use. He’s already been taken away from here.” came a deep male voice from behind him.

* * *

“I don’t get it….”

Rukia had been running for some time. After falling down that hole, she had called up to the others and received no answer. After the sounds of slithering had begun to creep up on her, she had decided it was time to go. To that end, she’d been running throughout hallway after hallway, and still had not seen a single openly obstructive enemy or object. That, however, was pushed aside to the moment for sheer awe and confusion at what she was now seeing around her. She stood on a walkway connecting the building she’d just come from to a building across from her, a strange cubic construction on top of a narrower building beneath it, with curved pillars lining the sides. What was outside the walkway…..were blue skies.

Rukia hesitantly walked to the edge, leaning over the rail. Down below was sand, so she was still in Hueco Mundo….but what was the deal with the sky? On top of being outside now, the sun was supposed to never shine in Hueco Mundo.

“What’s with the sky….?” She murmured aloud to herself, walking back from the rail.

"͛ͤ̃̂͂D͋oͧ̀̿ ̽͌͐ͤ͒yͣͭo̓͊̆ͤu̍̾̽̄̎ waͬ͆̇͒̇̋n̎ͪ̿ͯ̃t̀͋͗ ̍ͥ̿m̆ͬ̆͗̚eͦͧ͒̒ͤ̊̒ ̑͒̊̒to͆ ͐ë̏̊ͮx̂̿ͮͭ̎ͥpͧ̓ͮͦͩ̒̇l̾aͦi̾nͩ̆̂̑̏͒̚ ͗̈́̃ͤ̿̓̈ïͪͫt̆ͪͨ̅ͯ̚ tͪoͨ ͫͯy̑ͣͯ͂ouͪ͆̔͑?ͫ̃ͦ̆͋"̐͛̿

Rukia jolted, turning on her heel with her zanpakuto drawn, but there was nothing behind her. Her muscles tensed. There had definitely been a voice there—mere inches behind her. She spared a glance towards the new building and to her sides before turning back to the dark hallway from where she’d came. Was someone hiding in the shadows there? She wouldn’t rule it out.

But then, she heard a strange noise, the buzz-like flash of sonido, and turned behind her. Standing there, at the end of the walkway, was a tall figure. It was dressed in all white, and a high frill behind the head was obscuring her vision of it. She pointed her sword in its direction.

"̖̻̳̫C̫̗̜o̲̩̬̲͕̦m̰̘͇̹e̠͕ ͇̮̥w̪i̦̻̺̰̤̥̺t̜͓̱h̳̗ ͕̬̣̠m̘̘̱͓̦ͅḛ.̖͍̥̫̠"̻͖͚͍̦̦̲̖

This time the strange voice was not high-pitched, but low, hoarse, and slow. _Is this an Espada?_ The figure, in no hurry, walked forward, a door on the side of the building ahead sliding sideways to allow it inside. That door closed behind it.

Should she follow? She would be no soul reaper at all if she couldn’t tell a trap as obvious as that one, but she couldn’t see another way. The route she had gone had offered no other passageways or doors. The stranger’s command was clearly meant for her. She looked around.

She could jump off the side of the railing and begin to explore. She could see dozens of other buildings, ranging from shed-sized to skyscrapers. She tried to catch wind of Orihime’s spirit energy, finding nothing. She found nothing else inside the building up ahead, which made her uneasy, as it probably meant that an enemy was masking its pressure field.

On the other hand, she had no time to wander around aimlessly. The fastest way to obtain information about Orihime’s whereabouts was probably by getting it from an enemy. If she lucked out, it would be a Números that she could conceivably defeat on her own, and then she could threaten them for that information.

No matter what, however, she couldn’t stay out in the open like this, exposed like she was. Since the path she’d come from led to a dead end, she opted to move forward, running towards the door and seeing it slide open for her.

Once inside, the door closed behind her. She seemed to be in a rather large, spacious room, without much in the way of lighting. She could still see clearly, but it felt ominous. The walls were a dark blue. She looked around, trying to find the unknown being that had told her to follow it.

"̣͈͎͉S̫̰̟͕̣ͅo̯̜r̗̙̩͖̟̩̝r̮̯͚̻͈y̠̦͖ͅ,̲ͅ ͚̖̖̙b͈̫u͍̟t̖.̳̹̤͔̼̜.͕͚͍̞͚̝ͅ.̝̮̤̮̳͎"̖

There was the hoarse voice again! Rukia followed the sound of it, her attention drawn upwards to a ledge she hadn’t seen before some fifty feet away. As she peered at it, she saw that it was wearing a mask of some sort.

"̠̭̹̲̪̘̺.̹̣̗̣͍͙ͅ.̹̝̭̦͉̯.̫͈͈̥̟̫̤I̜̘̺̜ ͖͖̫͎̭͕ͅs̭̼i͔m̥̱̪̥͖p̹̭͚͙ͅl͚̦͇͎̳y̳̟̘̻̻ͅ ̦͙͓̺̹c͔̞̞̥a̻̺͈̟̳̯nn̰o̳̭̪̼̼ͅt ͚͖̼̟̘̱ͅs͙̪ta͇n̙͙̺d̰̙̟̬̭ ͈t̹͚͔ͅͅh̬̜̪͇͖̠e ̹͇̘̟̗̤̟l͎̠̜̠̤i̬̱͎͙̬gḥ̼̤̟t̳͙͕͉̘ ̞͎͍o͓͇̹̜̻u̞̖̠͇̙̪͚t̖̬̩͍̖s̘i̱̰̼̜͕ͅd͉͎̤͔̪͎ͅe͔̻̺̲.̩.̞͔͚͖̩.͓"

The figure, which had its hands hidden in its sleeves, raised a gloved right hand to its chest, as if to remove something.

"͋̈́̿ͯAl̏̅̄̄͆̍̋l̇́ͩͬͣͭoͬ̈́wͧͨͦͫ̄̋ ͋̌̔͋m͐͗͐͂e ̔̉̂ͣtͨ̾̀̔̉͌͗oͩ̓ͪ͋ ͣͫͩ̌̉ͦt̊̈́̂̀a͗k͊ͮ̇̒ͭͥe͊ͧ̍̾̊ͨ̏ ̓o͛ͥͫ͆ͤ̍ͥf̑fͧ̈́̄̃̇ͧ ̔ͦͮ̚m̏̄̉̇̆y̐̾̉ ̀̏̏͊mͦ̿̾͊aͬͭ̋̍̽͗̔sk̓ͤ͂͊ͬ͑̔ ̿̓̑͊a̋̈́͛ͪͥnd̊̈́ greͬ̆̇̍ͨ̊̓e͌t̅̋̃̌ ͗̾ͪyͩ̂ͦoͯ̈̈͆uͧͩ̽͐ ͪͬ̏pr͂͊̈͛o̓p͒ͣ̆̓̋̚e͐ͬr͂͆ͯ͋l̂y̓ͫ.́͗͐̈͒"ͨ́̂ͥ̒̒̎

The hand rose to the mask, hooking a finger under the chin of it, and lifted. Rukia’s blood ran cold. What she was seeing could not be real, that face could not be his face, and that voice could not be his voice.

“My name is Kaien Shiba.”

* * *

“Pesche! Get back and shield Nel!” Ichigo yelled.

“You don’t have to tell us twice!” came the voice behind them.

Ichigo raised Zangetsu, bracing his arm against the flat of it to block the kick that came from the Arrancar calling himself Dordoni. This guy was strong, and had staggered him. He slammed his foot backwards, reinforcing himself, and swung his sword, blocking the subsequent kick.

On his right, Chad was facing down another Arrancar, called Gantenbainne, and seemed to be struggling the same way he was. Unable to glance his way with the pressure from Dordoni, Ichigo saw Chad fly past him out of his peripheral vision.

“Why do you not release your bankai, _niño_?” I know you are Ichigo Kurosaki and that you have one!”

“Shut up!” Ichigo spat past gritted teeth. This man had introduced himself as Arrancar #103, and the other one had introduced himself as #107. Were these the newest of Aizen’s experiments? Whatever they were, if he needed his bankai against soldiers who weren’t even Espada, he was in trouble. He wasn’t going to draw it until he was forced. “Who the hell are you guys?”

“We,” Dordoni responded, sending several jabs and high kicks Ichigo’s way that he struggled to fend off, “are the Privaron Espada!”

Ichigo’s eyes widened. So they _were_ Espada? But--

“What does that mean? I thought there were only ten Espada!”

“It means ‘deprived’, Ichigo.” came Chad’s voice from on the right as he launched a punch that failed to connect with his opponent. “My guess is that it means they were stripped of their titles for some reason.”

“Correct!” came Dordoni’s voice again, as he swept to the side and tried attacking from that angle, which Ichigo dodged.

Ichigo did not have time to discuss it. The rank system didn’t matter to him, nor did the promotions and demotions, and he could not afford the distraction of thinking about it when he already wasn’t making very much progress.

Dordoni continued to press him, Ichigo stepping back several times to keep his balance, until raw rage made him stop giving ground—that, and the fact that they were getting a bit too close to the back of the room, where the Arrancars were cowering.

Dordoni leaped back, his left hand glowing red. A cero?

Ichigo brought up his Zangetsu to defend himself again, but found it blasted backwards. He reeled, losing his balance with his sword over his head, having barely prevented himself from letting the strike bounce his own sword into his face. He was open, and Dordoni immediately took the opportunity. Ichigo felt his foot connect with his cheek and pain flood his face as he flew backwards.

 _That asshole. That’s the same type of attack Grimmjow used_ , Ichigo thought as he struggled to his feet. He saw a flash of movement, Dordoni headed for him again.

“ _EL DIRECTO!_ ”

Ichigo’s eyes widened as he saw Dordoni’s charge interrupted, a huge white blast of energy slamming into him from the side. The Arrancar was swept away with the blast, slamming into the opposite wall. Shocked, Ichigo turned to the right. He saw Chad enduring several blows to the stomach from his own opponent; he must’ve seen an opportunity to help Ichigo and taken it at his own risk.

Appreciation for Chad swelled in Ichigo. Nothing to do but return the favor.

“ _MIKADZUKI!_ ” he yelled, slamming sword from overhead in Gantenbainne’s direction, launching a crescent-shaped wave of white energy into the Arrancar. Like Dordoni, Gantenbainne was taken by surprise, landing against the opposite wall and into a crater from the force of the impact.

“Huhhh…..thanks, Ichigo.”

“No problem.”

Their opponents were getting up, dusting themselves off. 

"Very well, niño." Dordoni conceded, drawing his zanpakuto from his belt and taking a running start. "But I'll have that bankai from you, yet."

* * *

"What's the matter? Aren't you happy to see you old lieutenant alive and well?"

Rukia blinked, still at a loss for words. The man calling himself Kaien had jumped down from the ledge and started a stroll towards her. "K-Kaien?" she stammered.

"Yeah, that's my name. And you're Rukia Kuchiki."

He stopped about ten feet from her. Although the strange white outfit with the frills and the long sleeves was so different from the shihakusho she remembered, that face ahead of her was definitely Kaien Shiba's. At first, she felt smaller in this presence, but quickly realized that this was half due to a visible change in height. Kaien had already towered over her in the past, but it seemed as though he'd gained the better part of a foot in height. There must've been two feet's worth of difference in height between them.

"Kaien....is that really you?" she asked, feeling like a young, recent entrant into the Gotei 13 once more. This couldn't be right. Kaien Shiba was dead, she had killed him with her own hands, seen life leave him with her own eyes. How could he be here, in Hueco Mundo? In Las Noches? "This....this doesn't make sense!"

"I'm sure you have a lot of questions." Kaien said, staring down at her. "Put your sword down and we'll talk."

Wariness overtook Rukia. Though she tried to follow instruction, her arm didn't move. This could be some kind of trick, and very likely was. _Wasn't Ashido terrified of some predator that was taking the faces of loved ones?_ But then she collected and reassured herself. Based on the details of the story that Ashido had told her, that impostor seemed to need to consume and replace its prey in order to take their appearance, or at least see them. Kaien Shiba had never set foot in Hueco Mundo, much less Las Noches. Of course, that didn't explain how he was still alive.

Rukia looked towards him. In his belt was a zanpakuto. That, too, was familiar. But it was not drawn, nor did Kaien seem to be making any hostile moves. Slowly, she lowered her sword arm. 

"That's better." Kaien said. Rukia eyed him carefully as he turned away from her, approaching one wall, and opening a drawer she hadn't seen before. After rummaging around in it, he returned with two cushions. After returning, he tossed one to her. "Sit on that. You and I have got a lot of catching up to do."

Rukia obeyed, uneasy. At least he was willing to explain. "I saw you die." she said.

"And that's where our story starts, doesn't it?" Kaien said, tilting his head, looking her in the eye. "With you killing me."

She felt a pang in her chest. _'With you killing me'_ , he was so nonchalant about it. As though it were an everyday occurrence to be seen walking around after pronounced dead and given a funeral.

"The Hollow that possessed Miyako, and then me, was called Metastacia. It was an experiment by Aizen and, as you know, possessed the ability to fuse with a soul reaper. However, it was also programmed to return to Hueco Mundo and reconstruct itself there if it was ever slain so that an autopsy could be done and intel could be gathered."

Rukia's memories began to flood her, painful ones, of the night that her superior officer had been possessed. After having his wife taken over and slain by this Hollow, which now had a name, Kaien had been overtaken by pride and anger, and hunted it down to kill it himself. Rukia had wanted to help, but been prevented from doing so by her captain. Despite his best efforts, Kaien was possessed as well. She had returned to the site due to her own weakness, and returned to find the hideous face of Kaien fused with a Hollow grinning at her. 

"However, it took my spirit with it before I could die with the creature. I was able to reconstitute myself, and assert dominance over the fused form." Kaien said, before his somber expression turned into one of self-satisfied smugness. "So in other words, my iron will exceeded their expectations and threw a wrench into their plans!"

"But, your injuries...."

"...Were nothing. Healing is much easier here than in Soul Society, what with the higher reishi concentration. From there on, I was able to infiltrate the ranks of Aizen's army and convince them that I was Metastacia. I bided my time, gaining power, until I finally joined the Espada. My current position is the Noveno Espada."

It was a bit of a stretch. "I'm....I'm not sure that--I don't know if I can easily believe that." Rukia said, tripping over her words, and frowning. She wanted to, but how likely was that?

"I assure you, it's true." Kaien said, the somber look returning. She wished it hadn't. The goofy self-assurance, while brief, had put her in mind of the old Kaien.

"Then, you've been here the whole time?"

"Yes. Although I'd like to get revenge on Aizen, I'm not strong enough, even from the inside, I'd just get myself killed. But then, you and your friends arrived. It's the perfect opportunity, but I didn't want to discuss it outside. That blue sky you saw? It's a fabrication of Aizen's against the ceiling of Las Noches' dome. At first, I had no idea why it was there, but I suspect it's a surveillance device of some sort. I don't want to conspire with you in a place that could be overseen."

That blue sky out there was the ceiling? But it had seemed to stretch for miles. Either it was a very convincing illusion, or this fortress was far bigger than she thought. 

"And I don't know why you're out here alone, you'd _definitely_ get yourself killed. ........Of course, if you went and killed yourself, I guess we'd be square then, huh?"

At those words, a wave of some cold and dense feeling took hold of her, and settled in her stomach region, making her want to throw up. She looked down at her knees. Again, so very casual about it. _I guess if I'd been stabbed and sent to live in whatever hell of a life Aizen's created for his subordinates, I'd hold a bit of a grudge, too_ , she thought. Kaien was no longer speaking, and the silence hung in the air. After desperately trying to look anywhere but at him, she took a deep breath. She looked back up at him, and found a curious look in his eye.

"Kaien....if that's truly what you want--what you need, my life in recompense for yours....then I'll gladly give it. I can understand if you resent me. But, before that....I have someone I need to rescue. I cannot give you my life until I've used it for that much, at least."

The silence continued. Kaien's brow had furrowed, and his eyes had narrowed as he peered at Rukia. She wondered what he was thinking, and if he was gauging her. Orihime needed her right now. Surely he could understand that?

"...I see that you're feeling rather guilty. I'm disappointed you didn't realize that was a joke."

Rukia's mouth dropped open slightly, and blood rushed to her face. A joke? _But I didn't..... But Kaien...._ Her brain was short-circuiting. Was she supposed to be able to tell that was a joke? That didn't seem like the sort of joke that should be played at any time! Especially concerning what had happened between them! But perhaps she was being sensitive. Considering he'd actually died, it was sort of within his privileges to make morbid jokes.

"But no, I don't need you to kill yourself, Rukia. For one thing, my death was my own fault. I didn't need to get killed that night. My pride blinded me, and I paid for it. I've been given a second chance at life, though, and I intend to use it to the fullest."

An inspiring way to look at it, if a bit bitter. Her mind wandered briefly to Captain Ukitake and the guilt he must feel over Kaien's death, and how overjoyed he'd be to see Kaien alive again once Aizen was dealt with. However, before she could contemplate the matter, Kaien continued speaking.

"Second of all, if I wanted you dead, I could do it myself."

Rukia froze. There was no lingering dense chill or feeling of sorrow, only sheer shock.

"In fact, why don't we have a go at it?"

Kaien stood up from his cushion and kicked it to the side, drawing his zanpakuto from his belt. Rukia hurried to her feet, backing away. She had meant what he'd said about giving her life....but she'd also meant what she'd said about rescuing Orihime first. What was with the sudden drawing of a blade against her?

"Ready yourself, Rukia. Consider this a test of your skills. If you cannot fend me off, you cannot survive an assault from any of the Espada. See if you can handle me at my current level of power."

* * *

" _Whirl, Giralda!_ "

" _Strike, Dragra!_ "

Rushing wind filled the room, blowing Ichigo's hair back from over his face. Against his will, he began to slide back, inched back over the floor until he planted Zangetsu into the ground. Chad, who was heavier, did not slide back, but pressed his palm to Ichigo's back to keep him steady.

Ahead of them, the Arrancars had transformed. Gantenbainne was now a hulking figure with some sort of armor-like shell covering his shoulders and arms, with dragon-like adornments covering his hands. Dordoni was no longer on the ground--instead he was above, floating in the air. Coiled around themselves in the air beside him were cyclones, visible thanks to dust being pulled into them, long and thick like snakes, but ending in bone masks in the shape of bird beaks.

"Ichigo!"

"Yeah, I know."

He could feel the spiritual pressure in the room rising, weighing him down. There was no more use in holding out on bankai, these were opponents above normal Arrancars.

" _Bankai! Blaze, Kurotaiyo Zangetsu!_ "

* * *

"You said Rukia was here! You lied!"

Renji was in a massive, spacious room. Sand covered the floor, enough of it present that Renji felt his feet sinking in it. Even if he hadn't already scanned the room for some sign of Rukiaa's presence, he would know: her spirit energy had spiked, some distance of miles away, allowing him to detect her. How she had gotten that far away so quickly, he couldn't fathom, but his senses weren't lying. She was fighting an opponent, and a strong one. This was the worst case scenario--Ichigo and Chad had opponents bearing down on them, as did Rukia and Uryu--who were both alone. And so did he, equally alone.

"I didn't lie. I said I knew where she was. It just happens to not be here."

The Arrancar standing across from him was tall, with tanned skin, black hair slicked back in a series of spikes, and golden eyes. The remnants of a Hollow mask hung around his head, appearing as a strange, flat skull-like object situated over his head. From the back end of it, a series of vertebrae hung like a chain, or a tail, not unlike the skeletal tail that had hung from Shawlong Koufang's head. The standard Arrancar hakama and jacket he was wearing were tattered and frayed. His zanpakuto, or at least what Renji assumed was his zanpakuto, hung at his waist and appeared to be a crooked knife with a zig-zagged pattern along the blade. Renji's zanpakuto, on the other hand, was drawn and pointed. 

It was about damn time their enemies had showed themselves, but why did they have to be so split up, first? How much effort had they put into avoiding exactly this situation?!

"Out of the way, now!"

"Not even going to attempt a fight? Come on now. You know better. You're not leaving this room until you beat me, and more accurately, you're not leaving this room alive."

Renji could feel a vein throbbing in his temple. He knew that was true, though he furiously wished it weren't. He wasn't worried about Ichigo or Chad, and Uryu seemed to be holding his own well, but the opponent Rukia was facing was far more powerful than anything else he was sensing. She was a good fighter, but of all the people to get caught with the strongest opponent...

"My name is Athol Daman. You should at least take the time I'm giving you to tell me your name." Athol said, pulling out his knife and taking a battle stance. Renji held out his zanpakuto, ready to defend himself.

"Renji Abarai." he spat.

His opponent nodded, lunging forward. 

* * *

"Well, if you meet up with your friend, you're just going to have to beat me, aren't you?"

Uryu dodged another strike by the wheel on the cord that turned out to be this woman's zanpakuto. The woman in question called herself Cirucci Sanderwicci. Returning fire, he sent several arrows to her position in a wide spread, but none hit their mark. 

"You called yourself Arrancar #105, didn't you?" Uryu asked aloud, figuring that he might as well get some intel on his opponents while he was able. "Are you the latest in the production line, then?"

"Ha! Latest!" came the delighted snicker. "Let me correct you, four-eyes: we are the _oldest_ of the Arrancars."

 _Oldest? That doesn't line up with the intel we already have on them. The one called Shawlong Koufang was supposed to be the oldest, with the number of eleven, according to the ranking system_ , he thought. After another dodge and another failed retaliation shot, he responded.

"I thought the Arrancars were numbered from birth lowest number to highest?"

"Since you're not aware, you have entered the den of _Tres Cifras_." came Cirucci's voice from behind him. Uryu dived for cover, but no wheel came flying out to attack him. "We are the _Privaron_ Espada--the fallen. We are a system based on power, born to fight. If an Espada's power is outshone by new Arrancars, they become demoted--those with enough power to outclass the Números, but not within the top ranking ten, are assigned a three-digit number from 100 onward. Before the stronger ones came, I was the _Quinta_  Espada."

"So at one time, you held captain-level power."

"I _still_ hold captain-level power, _Quincy_. Not that the rankings of soul reapers or Hollows should matter much to you."

He heard the sinister whirring of the wheel being snapped in his direction, and moved away again, the column behind him being destroyed. Knowing it was already too late to fire back, he resumed searching for her, finding her spirit energy quickly.

"And if you want to hear another secret," Cirucci said, deflecting Uryu's next shot with her wheel, "the one your friend is facing in the next room is stronger than I am."

"I'm not worried about Renji." Uryu answered confidently, able to sense the spiritual pressures of both Renji and the opponent he was fighting. "He's stronger than I am, as well."

* * *

Rukia staggered backwards. 

She was fighting Kaien, and losing ground. Until now, she had been completely unable to detect his spiritual pressure, and had been correct in assuming he was hiding it. Once the sparring session began, though, he had let it flow freely. It was not nearly as dense and overwhelming as Grimmjow's, but still quite strong, forcing her to put more work into lifting and swinging her blade. She had noted that, much like Ichigo now, Kaien's spiritual pressure possessed the feeling of both a soul reaper's energy and a Hollow's, though she had no more time to contemplate it as she was forced to defend herself.

 _Clang. Clang. Clang._ Each time Kaien's sword connected with hers, she was pushed back a little further. _I'm really sick of people giving me surprise 'tests' today...._ This was, overall, not unlike the training sessions she had endured back at the training hall with Kaien many years ago. Swordplay was simply not her area of expertise, but that was not the problem today. Kaien's moves were exactly like how she remembered them--if she had had any doubts about who he was before, they were gone now. She attempted to adapt to these moves in time to counterattack, but had no time to adjust to the power behind him. Kaien was packing _much_ more force behind his attacks than she remembered. Which, she supposed, made sense if he was trying to prepare her for the Espada. She could attempt to supplement her swordplay with kido to get in an attack of her own, but she would need to take a hand off of her sword for that, and she did not think she could fend off Kaien's attacks with only one hand on her sword. 

Kaien's sword arm came up for a powerful downward slash, and Rukia acted evasively, using flash step to swiftly create a distance of some fifteen feet between them. She kept her eye on Kaien, who did not press his assault, though Rukia was sure he could cover that distance in an instant. The gaze he was giving her seemed to be appraising.

Well, no use not taking the opportunity given to her. Rukia repeated her flash step, lunging forward with her sword swing for a diagonal slash. It was Kaien's turn to defend now, parrying her swing, which she followed up with several ferocious attacks. The sounds of metal clashing against metal filled the room again. Even as she swung, she knew this would get her nowhere--even assuming that Kaien wasn't much stronger than her, or that swordplay was her area of expertise, it was a bad match-up. She was under average in both height and physical strength, while Kaien on the other hand had appeared to have an abundance of both. As she repeatedly tried to strike for his arms and shoulders and chest, it occurred to her again just how much bigger he seemed than in her memories.

So, to keep her advantage, she flashed again, continuing the assault once she got behind him. She didn't get through, finding her attacks parried again, but she saw him stagger for balance. After seven more strikes, she flashed again to keep him from getting too used to her angles and attack patterns, swinging from the other side now. Success! She drew blood, slashing Kaien's leg open!

"I'm impressed." came Kaien's voice as he continued to parry her attacks from different angles, and another cut opened up on his arm, "Your flash step has greatly improved, Rukia, as have your sword skills. You haven't even released your shikai against me yet."

Rukia didn't like the sound of that. His words implied that he was still holding back a great degree. _Alright, from here on out, no shikai_ , she thought to herself.

 _Bvvt_. A buzzing sound, and then her sword hit thin air. The bottom of Rukia's stomach dropped out, and she felt a presence behind her.

_CLANGT!_

Despite her efforts to turn and parry, she felt herself being pushed back, her own sword nearly pushed into her own neck from the force of the swing she barely managed to block. For an instant, she saw her reflection glinting in the metal of Kaien's zanpakuto, before she jumped back. This time he did not give her pause, continuing to press his advantage. She continued to dodge, unable to get her feet under her properly while off-balance as she was. Another flash step finally carried her away from Kaien as he brought his sword down hard enough to carve out part of the ground where she'd been an instant earlier.

_His speed is as overwhelming as his strength. Did he say that he was only the Ninth Espada?_

She struggled to regain herself, swinging upwards one-handed in an effort to block the next attack, only to find her zanpakuto knocked away and flying out of her hands. Her entire body tensed as, in a single instant, she saw what was happening before she could prevent it.

" _Aaaughuh--!_ "

Pain flowed outward from her gut, where Kaien's zanpakuto had pierced her. Many emotions--shock, fear, anger, and despair--hit her at once alongside the intense agony. What had just happened? He wasn't supposed to be actually trying to kill her, right--? All of this was mixed with disappointment in herself. She had lost, and proved herself incapable.

Leaned forward and impaled on Kaien's sword as she was, she saw movement reflected in his blade again. This was followed by that blade glinting a bluish purple color. Rukia looked up. Her eyes widened at what she saw: Kaien was holding a hand out, a soft-ball sized orb of spirit energy pulsating and crackling in his fingers: a cero.

" _Sho!_ "

Her finger, pointed upward, shot out a white, bullet-like blast of energy that connected with his wrist, knocking it away. An instant later, a wave of energy shot past her head, deafening her. Once she'd ascertained that she wasn't dead, she took the next instant to counterattack.

"Hado #31!" she yelled, holding her palms out and forming the red fireball, aimed at her opponent, "Shakka-- ** _huaagh_ _!_** "

Kaien had jumped away, yanking out his zanpakuto. Rukia felt the stabbing pain, which was already fierce, ignite further. She needed healing. She dropped to her knees, cradling her stomach. However, she did not take her eyes away from Kaien, who was some ten feet away, flicking his sword to get blood off of the blade.

"I'd say you're at about lieutenant level right now, Rukia. You've come a long way. Have they given you my old position back at the Seireitei?"

Rukia did not answer his question. Idle chatter could wait. 

"Kaien....." she asked, voice cracking, "....what _was_ that?"

"That?" Kaien answered, unconcerned and with a small, but strange grin on his face. "That was my cero. I was sure before we started fighting that you'd be able to guess that I have the powers of both Hollows and soul reapers now. Not too different from that handsome boy you hang around so much. Ichigo, wasn't it? You got a thing for him because he looks like me?"

Rukia was at a loss. She felt empty. What would've sounded like teasing earlier now sounded like taunting. But that wasn't what concerned her. A cero, at point blank range....he'd definitely been trying to kill her just now.

"That's not.....that's not what I meant." she answered, shaking as she held her wound. "I meant the look on your face. Like you actually wanted to kill me."

The expression on Kaien's face switched to one of surprise, or at least that's what she thought. He seemed rather difficult to read. He shrugged, seemingly unconcerned. "I treated you the way I'd treat an enemy I was in a fight to the death with. If it works for the Eleventh Division, it'll work for you, too. I can't really afford to go easy on you considering the challenges awaiting you."

She did not know what to think or how to respond to that. Kaien walked forward, reaching out with his right hand to help her up. She stared up at him, feeling all the more tiny and powerless as he towered over her. He extended his hand and, after a moment of hesitation, she took it, allowing him to pull her to her feet.

"Well, it's not a good idea to proceed with our plans with you injured. Sit tight for a second. I've got a room here that's got some very effective healing supplies. But before I get you there, I'd like you to meet someone. He'll escort you down there."

He walked past her, and she turned to watch him go. He did not look back at her as he moved to the edge of the room, and passed through another door in the wall that opened as he approached and closed after he was through. After a few seconds of staring at the seamless spot where the door was, she walked over to the discarded cushion, picking up and pressing it against her stomach.

What bothered her was not that Kaien had stabbed her hard enough for her to feel blood dripping down her back as well as her front, nor even that he had continued to attack her as though earnestly trying to take her head off afterward. Even though that had never been Kaien's style back in the days when he had been the lieutenant of her division, he was right in that she needed to be prepared to fight off assaults like that in the middle of the enemy's fortress. Aizen's elite forces wouldn't be showing mercy. No, what had bothered her was the look on Kaien's face as he had charged that cero and tried to blow her head off. There had been an unsettling, unnerving look on his face in that single moment. A sadistic grin, one that she recognized and wished she didn't. She had seen it on another Espada's face--Grimmjow's, just before he'd impaled her in their first meeting. Then a second time, when he'd been about to kill Ichigo. That look on a lunatic's face was something she could handle, but seeing it on Kaien's face....it disarmed her. It didn't fit, it was simply wrong.

Rukia kept her eyes trained on the door he had gone through, never taking her eyes off of it. She was alone now, with only her scrambled thoughts and her bleeding wound for company.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finally get to write Aaroniero! Hopefully I can start writing more often now that I've gotten to the part I enjoy, the Espada encounters. If anyone couldn't tell, the high-pitched head's zalgo text moves upward, and the low-pitched head's zalgo text moves downward.


	5. Snake Tails

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Before he can meet up with Uryu or look for Rukia, Renji must fight Athol Daman, one of the Privaron Espada. Meanwhile, Rukia meets back up with someone else.

Rukia had started using kaido on herself, which she thought was a good idea since Kaien seemed to be taking a minute. Even if he did have an infirmary room, it would be wise not to sit here and allow herself to bleed out while she waited on him. It was a slow-going process, as kaido was less effective when used to heal one's own self. Slowly, she felt the flesh of her upper back closing back up, and a strange sensation inside of her back that seemed to be her spine healing from where his blade had grazed it. It hurt like hell, but the pain was receding bit by bit.

Before she could finish, however, she heard a noise from the far side of the room. Her attention snapped back to the  door and who was coming through it.

"Hey, Rukia."

_....!?_

 Rukia's mouth dropped open. Walking inside was Ashido Kano.

Though bloody and bandaged, with a thick circle of gauze wrapped around his forehead, she was unmistakably staring at Ashido. As she watched, he strolled into the room, and she saw that he was missing his bone mask and shield, and part of the furred hides he wore on his cloak, but it was him. Rukia staggered to her feet, wary and overjoyed at the same time. _I'm so glad he's alive_ , she thought. It could only have been a little over an hour since she'd last seen him, but it was good to know that he'd made it out of a daunting battle with his life.

Ashido strolled forward, crossing the distance to her before stopping, and holding his arm out for her to take. "Are you alright?"

Rukia still holding her wounded stomach, did not immediately answer. "You're the person Kaien wanted me to see?"

"I guess so. I wasn't told I'd be meeting anyone until just a minute ago, but I'm glad you're still in one piece."

Ashido's expression was serious, somber. She motioned for him to put his hand down, as she did not need help walking just yet. "What happened to that shape-shifter you were fighting?"

In response, Ashido raised a hand to his head, where there was a small red spot soaking through the gauze, but getting bigger. "I was in a pretty tight bind. Your friend Kaien back there showed up just in time to help me out before I was about to take a fatal hit, and repelled the monster. I'd be dead now if it weren't for him. He's been patching me up, but I'm supposed to go down the hall to an infirmary nearby. He said to take you with me."

Gratitude and warmth rushed into her. It looked like her old lieutenant was making good on his 'second chance at life'.

"C'mon, it's this way."

Rukia followed behind him as he turned back towards the door he'd come through and turned right, towards the end of the room opposite the one she had arrived in. When they came to the wall, he stopped, and Rukia peered closely. Though initially it seemed to be bare wall, she could see a seam where the outline of a door or panel connected with the rest of the wall. Ashido stood in front of it, uncertain, with one hand reaching out before stopping halfway through the air. 

"Uhh--"

As if on cue, the panel moved with a mechanical whirring noise, swinging backwards and upwards on a hinge. Beyond it, the walls were the same dark blue. She could see that it was a very narrow stairwell, barely big enough for two people to stand side-by-side. Ashido moved a bit to the side and looked at her, as if to let her go first, but she shook her head. Turning his back to her, he began a descent down the stairs. Rukia followed a step behind him. When she was a few feet into the stairwell, she heard another whirring noise and looked back, seeing the door close behind her.

It was good that they were going to be healed soon, but how far were they from the Menos Forest? And how far were they from Rukia's friends? If things turned out well, Ashido could join them on their mission. She didn't know if Ashido had already been informed that there was a shakonmaku on all sides of Las Noches. 

For a long while, nothing filled the silence but the sounds of their footfalls on the steps. Though she was immensely relieved, Rukia also couldn't shake an uncomfortable, nervous feeling.

* * *

_Clingt!_

Renji deflected another strike from the Arrancar's blade, sparks flying and a peal ringing out from the clashing metals. Athol was fast, and his strikes were powerful despite the small size of the knife he was using. Each time Renji sidestepped and counterattacked, he found his strikes dodged or blocked well. So far, neither one had managed to land a hit. It was a frustrating fight, reminding him of his battle with Yylfordt Granz. The same arrogant smile was on this Arrancar's face too, more pronounced if anything.

Renji lunged for a thrust with his blade, swinging it to the left when Athol dodged it, again finding himself blocked. A red glow began to surround Athol's free palm. Renji, tensed, readying himself to doge out of the way of a cero blast. But Athol did not immediately fire it. Instead, Renji heard the static-like sound and was forced back as he blocked another knife slash, aided by _sonído_. A grin broke out on Athol's face. 

The sparks in the air multiplied as Renji's opponent repeated the _sonído_   and his assaults, too fast for him to do anything but defend himself. The repeated flashes of movement, with the glow of the charging cero following them flashing back and forth, was disorienting and made Renji's eyes hurt. He continued backing away, trying to create distance between himself and the rapid, unceasing assault, when he felt his heel hit something solid. A split-second glance backward told the lieutenant that he was backed against a wall.

He knew before he turned his gaze back that his hand had been forced. Without needing to run his hand along the blade or call out its name, Zabimaru transformed into its shikai state, just as Athol swung his hand forward, the oversized cero glowing dangerously. 

Red light filled his vision as he swung downward, cutting through the wave of energy that came his way. He wasn't able to completely escape the blast with the sideways force from his cut, and it overflowed and burned his shoulders and arms, tearing away the cloak he was wearing. He felt himself pushed back against the wall, hand braced against the back of Zabimaru.

" _Hhrrrgh!_ "

Just as the cero burned itself out, Renji heard the sound of another _sonído_ above him. Too late to block the attack, Renji felt the blade of the knife cut through his shoulder. Undeterred, Renji reacted by throwing an arm out, catching hold of the one holding the knife and yanking, dragging him down and slamming him into the sand. Another _sonído_   took Athol away, about three o'clock from his position and roughly fifty feet away. 

Eager to get out from the crater that had been blasted into the wall behind him, Renji leaped forward, swinging Zabimaru down. To his pleasure, Athol wasn't ready for the power that lied behind Zabimaru's blade, and his knife gave way, leading to Renji opening up his shoulder: they were even now. Renji kicked the Arrancar out from under the blade, before launching it at him, the cords in the blade's segments stretching to reach him. 

It hit empty sand, and Renji retracted it as he saw Athol rolling, and then jumping away. Athol's hand was glowing, but this time Renji swung out and caught the blast, feeling it knock his shikai away with a surprising amount of concussive force. Athol did not take the opening, instead doing something strange. As Renji watched, he rolled his head back and forth and in circles on his neck, producing several audible cracking noises as his neck popped. Behind him, the vertebrae that hung like a chain from his headpiece began to sway and wriggle.

He took a defensive stance, not sure of what was happening. His eyes widened as, with several more cracking noises, the skeletal 'tail' on the back of Athol's head elongated, falling to the floor in coils, before it rose up like a snake and then slammed itself into the ground. Athol's yellow eyes were alight and there was a grin on his face. 

Renji did not need to feel the tell-tale shaking of the sand underneath him to know what was going to happen next. He dived out of the way as the sand underneath him exploded outward, and a length of white bones shot out like a spear. It curved, aiming for him again, and Renji dodged a second time. 

 _Crash, crash, crash!_ Each time the bone chain shot outward, Renji sidestepped, only for it to dive under the sand again and repeat the attempt. The skeleton tail bounced off of Renji's blade on its latest attempt, and he shoved it, pushing it away. _So long as he's got that thing stuck in the ground, I don't have to worry about him attacking me directly at least_ , Renji thought, only to become alarmed when he glance over at where Athol was still standing. Another red glow was being charged up.

" _Die, Renji Abarai!_ "

Flash step took him away from the cero's blast radius, though only barely. Unable to control his momentum, though, he failed to dodge the tail that came up from under the ground underneath him.

" _Damn it--!_ "

The bone chain wrapped around his ankle, and he felt himself yanked downward. Renji hit the ground hard. Thanks to the sand being loose, it didn't hurt as much as he expected, though pain still flooded the side of his head where he hit the ground. Sand flew into his mouth and eyes however, and before he could get his bearings, he felt himself being pulled through the air again. His vision was a blur, but he caught maniacal laughter ringing in his ears. His only thought was to refuse to let go of Zabimaru as--

_SLAM!_

" _Augh!_ "

_SLAM!_

Twice more he was swung around and slammed into the sand coating their arena. Pain pulsing through his head and chest, Renji tried to get his bearings, only aware that he wasn't hitting some surface again. Sand was everywhere, and he couldn't tell which way was up. After a few seconds of dealing with the disorientation he was experiencing and spitting out sand, he realized his arms were pointing up, and that hair was falling away from his face. Looking around, he realized he was being held upside down by his ankle. _What the hell?_

His attention was drawn to a red glow down below. _Aw damn it_.

His reprieve did not last long, as almost immediately he felt something hard hit him square in the face, just barely missing his eye. Renji's head swung back, and he felt like he'd just had a small collide with his head. It hurt, but he could not feel blood anywhere. He tried to draw Zabimaru up to block further attacks, but to no avail. He was hit next in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him, then in the leg.

" _Haaahahahahaha!!_ "

Shielding himself with his arms, Renji felt a barrage of bolt after bolt hit him, holding back yells of pain. 

"You can't even withstand a few small bala? Pathetic!"

The sentence was followed by the many bolts hitting him ceasing. Removing his arms from his face, Renji stared as, upside down, another attack was visibly charged up. _Shit!_  Panicking, he swung out with Zabimaru, only for the corded blade to not even land close to his target. Upside down, he could not properly attack to prevent the cero being charged.

_C'mon, think! I have to do something! Kido?_

Shakkaho? Hainawa? Geki? Wait--

"Hado number eleven!" Renji yelled, throwing a hand outward, down the length of his body to point at the skeleton tail holding him by the ankle, wrapped right around the edge of his sock. "Tsuzuri Raiden!"

Renji thanked the Soul King that such a useful spell existed at such a low level, as he felt the grip loosen and drop him, allowing him to turn in the air and land with his feet on the sand hard just as he heard a small explosion behind him. Turning, he found Athol kneeling and with smoke rising from his torso, the upper half of his Arrancar uniform destroyed from his backfiring cero and seemingly stunned from the electric spell shocking him. He wouldn't get another opportunity like this. 

Smirking, he swung his hand back and launched the blade of Zabimaru again, sending it not for Athol himself, but the ground next to him. He curved the blade, needing to try harder given that it he couldn't bounce it off of the sand as easily as he could with a rock or metal wall, and began careening it around the Arrancar, having the chain blade make arcs over and around the prone figure until he was trapped in a veritable net of cords and blades. The final ricochet sent the end blade back his way, which he reached out and grabbed with his left hand, before yanking with his right, tightening all the cords at once and cocooning Athol inside a maw of metal teeth.

" _Aaaaaaaaaugh!_ "

The sound of the scream was barely heard over the sounds of a hundred blades clashing and clanging scraping and sparking against one another as they fought to return to sword form. Renji was satisfied to find that, once the net of his Zabimaru had fully retracted, Athol was collapsing on the ground, covered in his own blood.

"Who was it you were calling pathetic just a second ago...?"

A fit of coughing and snarling answered him. Athol was looking up at him, propped up on his palms and baring his teeth. "Do you......D-Do you...."

Renji stared on, unimpressed. Though still somewhat dizzy and feeling bruises from the bala forming, the fight was definitely his. Did he what?

" _DO YOU KNOW WHO YOU'RE DEALING WITH?!_ "

Renji raised his blade, pointing it at Athol's forehead. "I'm dealing with someone who's going to tell me where I can find either Rukia Kuchiki, or Orihime Inoue--on pain of death." he threatened.

Even past all of the blood, a vein was visible throbbing in Athol's forehead, and his eyes bulged outward, making him look utterly mad. His chest was heaving up and down, and Renji wondered if he were about to try a suicide attack, taking a step back.

" ** _DESECRATE! APEP!_** "

Renji leapt backward, shielding his face with Zabimaru. Dark red energy was erupting around the Arrancar in waves, pouring outward and upward. The spiritual pressure that had been exerted earlier was amplified several times over, and he could feel heat being driven out from the point of change. 

_God damn it. Why didn't I take his knife from him as soon as I got him down?_

Athol's silhouette was visible within the bloodred fountain, and as Renji watched, he began to rise off the ground and into the air. The lieutenant staggered backwards, holding Zabimaru in front of him to shield from any surprise attacks, and watched as he rose nearly to the height of the ceiling. The flow of energy began to thin out, and he saw that something was still connecting him too the ground, thicker than his waist, like a trunk. 

When the energy finally dissipated, Renji was left with an alarming sight. Standing tall and towering over him was a massive snake with a hide every bit as red as the eruption he'd just witnessed, falling in coils onto the sand. At its head, rather than curving forward to look down at him, it pointed upward, its mouth open to reveal Athol himself rising out of it from the waist up, the serpent's jaws covering his legs. Backing up further, Renji saw that he was not merely standing inside the serpent's jaws--his legs, visible behind the lower jaw, had become a pink trunk, and he seemed to have fused, or become, the snake's tongue.

"Behold your death, Renji Abarai!" came the booming voice from above, and Renji met Athol's eyes, staring down at him.

"This is your sword release, then?" he called up at his opponent, readying himself.

"This is my _Resurrección_ , you pitiful soul reaper! You now see Apep, the true form of the First Primera!"

"First....... _Primera_?" Renji said, eyes widening. Primera? That meant 'first'. So this guy was once the top dog of the Espada? Renji could certainly believe it, feeling the spiritual pressure surrounding him. Of course, the stature of the beast was no joke either. Renji, however, could only compute one thing at the moment.

"So....you're the 'first first'?" he asked, snickering, unable to help himself.

" _Be silent, shit stain!_ " Athol yelled, maddened look returning to his face. "I'll show you what happens when you challenge me!"

Renji saw him throw his arm out, and sprinted as a cero, larger and denser than the ones before, was charged with alarming speed and blasted down at him, being swept across the sand. Flash step took him out of the way at the last second as it nearly caught up with him before it burned out. The earth trembled underneath him, and he saw the coils of the snake rising, and then saw Athol descend within the snake's jaws, which closed behind him. Cursing, he dived out of the way as the beast rose up and arced down towards him, burying itself in the sand where Renji had been a second earlier.

* * *

"What a drama queen."

In a quiet office in one of the towers of Las Noches, Gin sat at a monitor set into the dashboard he was sitting at. Onscreen, a bird's eye view of the battles happening in _Tres Cifras_ were being played. In one ear, Gin had an earbud that was transmitting audio of the going-ons. Tapping the screen to focus on one scene and full-screen it, the mess of noise he was hearing was cut down to one set of events. 

_' I'll show you what happens when you challenge me! '_

"You've taken an interest in the Privaron Espada?"

Gin raised his head to look up over his shoulder. Ulquiorra was there, where he'd been standing since he'd caught Gin 'innocently' playing with the corridors. He, too, was intently watching the screen, the battle reflected in his eyes.

"I might've. Can't help but watch when Athol gets into his theatrics."

"You say that as if he's at all aware of how idiotic he looks."

"You do have a point there." Gin admitted. "He gave a speil about being the first Primera a minute ago. I had to laugh at the kid's response. But really, it's a shame that he's unable to let go of a sense of power and authority he no longer has a right to."

"And the others?"

"Cirucci seems to be doing well. Gantenbainne and Dordoni have their work cut out for them, on the other hand. Or were you talking about their attitudes? Well, those match as a matter of fact. Dordoni hasn't grasped that he can't become an Espada again. Too weak."

"I would have thought the strongest Privaron would seek out the strongest of the invaders."

"Well, Athol never _did_ boast about his character." he commented. Cowardly, that one. 

Ulquiorra gave no response. Silence endured for some time as Gin watched the battle intently, humming quietly to himself. After a few minutes, he shrank down the screen on which Athol was attacking Renji Abarai and took a look at the others.

"Oh, good, it looks like Kurosaki's fight is just about to finish. I might should send someone to go meet him."

"Nnoitra Gilga is already on his way."

"Oh?" Gin asked, raising an eyebrow. "Grimmjow's not going to like that."

"There are few things Grimmjow likes."

"Somehow I don't think that's something you should be saying." he commented, grin growing wider. "Are the Exequias on their way?"

"Szayel sent them as well."

"Then the only thing left to do is watch."

"You do that. Before I leave, how is the battle between the girl and Aaroniero? They seem to have stopped fighting."

"Aizen hasn't got any cameras in the Espada's quarters. Or if he has, he hasn't told me about it. I wouldn't worry too much. You know Aaroniero likes to toy with his food."

* * *

Renji was sprinting. The sand around him was constantly in motion, shifting under his feet, and making every step a risk. Behind him, he heard another explosion of sand as the giant serpent burst out of it, attempting to slam into him again. Looking behind him, Renji yelped as he was forced to dive for cover when he saw the monstrous red beast with its glowing blue eyes heading straight for him. 

_Alright, I've learned the pattern...._

Renji heard another crash behind him. As he had done many times already, he skidded to a halt and dived in the other direction when he felt the earth underneath him trembling, and this time he readied Zabimaru. Sure enough, a second later Athol burst out of it again.

_Now time to counterattack!_

Renji swung the blade as hard as he could, sending the corded length of wire and metal at the snake beast. 

_Cli-cli-cli-cli-clingt!_

Sparks flew, but no blood escaped. Renji turned on his heel and began fleeing again. All of that time waiting for an opportunity to strike and learning the movements, only to find out that the beast's hide was too tough to penetrate with his shikai. Well, that just meant--

_Crash!_

"Uagh!"

Renji felt the wind leave his gut as something slammed into him. Despite successfully dodging the diving of the head end, he failed to move out of the way of a surprise attack, and he felt himself hit the sand hard, the heavy weight of a mass of coiled muscle pressing down on him. Before he could get himself loose, he felt himself being swept up and wrapped in the snake's coil, realizing the tail end had hit him. He felt the coils tightening and lifting him into the air, and attempted to use flash step to get out of them, but only managed to get his arms free before the coils tightened around his midsection.

Renji felt his legs leave the ground and dangle in the air, and attempted to fight off the crushing coils. Crushing him, however, did not seem to be the goal of his enemy. Almost immediately, he saw the head of the beast rise again in front of him, stopping and opening its maw.

_....?_

_\--!_

Athol revealed himself, surfacing from within the beast, and wasted no time extending both hands, which began to glow red. _Oh, fuck no_ , Renji thought, eyes widening and panic flaring in his chest. _Two point-blank ceros_? That might just take him out of the fight for good. He swung desperately, sending Zabimaru flying at Athol's face, only for the Privaron Espada to catch it in one of his hands. Renji saw the orb in the remaining hand growing at alarming speed.

"Bankai--!"

 _Too late_. The blast hit Renji straight on, with only his arms thrown up to shield himself between it and his face, one still gripping the handle of Zabimaru. Red filled his vision as he felt himself blasted backward, felt agony flooding him. 

Though the blast only lasted for a second, it felt like an eternity. Renji slumped forward, arms and face falling onto the thick coil holding him up, which loosened to allow him to to slip out and fall onto the sand. Renji landed on his knees, and fell onto his palms, which seared with pain. He smelled smoke and knew it was his burned flesh. The sound of the cero was still ringing in his ears, creating a high-pitched sound that would not leave.

_Damn it. I shouldn't have let it get this far. Why didn't I activate bankai as soon as he transformed?_

In the next second that followed, he assessed the damage to himself, determining that he was still capable of getting up and moving around. Though his sleeves had been destroyed and there were not cracks and fractures in his Zabimaru, his arms and the blade itself were intact. He could feel blood running down his face, and some in his mouth, but nothing serious.

_Good. With the beatings I've taken, it'd be pathetic for me to go down to an Arrancar who wasn't even an Espada. Still though, I'd better not take another one of those point-blank._

He pulled himself to his feet, looking towards Athol, who was coiled a few yards away, a sadistic grin on his face.

"How does it feel, soul reaper? Facing down true power?"

Renji did not answer, instead choosing to take advantage of something he'd noticed. He needed to activate his bankai, and he also needed to strategize. He had the distinct feeling that this 'Apep' could not use  _sonído_ , being too large to do so and ill-suited given the shape of its body. It certainly wasn't going to be able to when half-buried in the sand. So he just needed to gauge its evasive speed.

" ** _BANKAI!_** " he yelled, holding Zabimaru forward as smoke billowed out and began to surround both him and his blade. It transformed, going from relatively large chainblade to an enormous skeletal snake. Renji felt his fatigue disappearing. His wounds were still present, but compared to before, he no longer felt as if they affected him all that much. Energy surged through him as he declared his sword's full name: " ** _HIHIO ZABIMARU!_** " 

The beastly bankai shot forward, blasting out and grazing Athol, who dodged out of the way and swung himself backward. Renji, in response, pulled on the handle and the bankai curved its trajectory, swinging around for a second attack as Renji pushed it to its highest speed. As he'd thought would happen, rather than try to move his entire body out of the way, Athol descended back into the mouth of the snake, its eyes glowing blue again, and dived beneath the sand. 

That was it, then. He had been sure that, when Athol had risen out of the snake's maw to attack him, the eyes of the snake had ceased their blue glow, seeming to become 'deactivated' and darkening. Just now though, when he had returned to the inside of the snake, the eyes had glowed again!

It was no use trying to attack Athol when he was beneath the sand. On top of not being able to track him through it if he followed him, he'd only be firing blindly if he tried to attack from above the surface. Rather, he swung his skeletal snake upwards, stretching it to its maximum length to reach the ceiling some sixty or seventy feet high above, where the jaws of Hihio Zabimaru latched on, biting into the metal there. From there, he lifted himself, coiling the bankai again and swinging himself high into the air until he was in the rough midpoint of the room. Up here, it would be no use trying to dive in and out of the sand to slam into Renji as Athol had been doing. If Athol wanted to attack, he would have to surface.

 _Time to test my theory_ , he thought. That theory being that those glowing eyes on the snake were important to Athol's own strategy. Normal snakes, which had no eyelids and never blinked, had films or casings over their eyes to protect them from damage. However, unless Athol had a very impressive seismic sense, he shouldn't have been able to see Renji or otherwise locate him underneath such huge amounts of sand. If Renji was right, those eyes had their own casings with tracked spirit energy, rather like his own visored glasses that he still needed to replace. Moreover, he thought that if he could disable those eyes, he might be able to force Athol to remain outside the snake's mouth and vulnerable, rather than hiding inside that released form's armored hide. He couldn't fight if he couldn't see.

Sure enough, after some moments in which the sand beneath him could be seen shifting and rippling, the snake rose from beneath it, and Athol resurfaced. Seemingly intent on striking from a distance, several bala came Renji's way. He kicked them aside. After that, came the telltale glows of more ceros. This time, Renji was ready, creating reishi platforms to stand on so that he could dodge out of their paths. 

"You just gonna throw things at me all day?" he taunted, attempting to rile the former Espada. It worked, and Renji was sure even from so far up that he could see the vein throbbing in Athol's temple again. The Privaron rose, rushing for the ceiling to get close enough to attack. Tracking his movements carefully with his eyes, Renji threw out his free hand, pointing two fingers downward at the charging Arrancar.

"Hado number four, Byakurai!"

He struck gold. The pale blue beam of electric energy landed exactly where he wanted it to, striking the eye on the left side of the snake's head and causing it to shatter like glass. Athol seemed moderately aware of this, but too enraged to stop his assault, charging more ceros in each hand. When he was nearing being on the same level, Renji acted, yanking on the handle and coiling his bankai around himself and forming a protective barrier. 

" _Hrraaaagh! Die already!_ "

Though the blasts were fierce, Hihio Zabimaru withstood them, even from three feet away. The tight coils did not give, though they smoked slightly, as they absorbed Athol's blasts. Aiming with his free hand again, Renji uncoiled them just slightly, enough to create gaps through which he could point and fire another spell.

" _Aaugh!_ "

That was the other eye put out, shards falling to the sand below. With that, Renji swung, unlatching Hihio Zabimaru from the ceiling and uncoiling his bankai around himself at such a speed as to force distance between Athol and himself. He let himself fall, descending to the sand with a _thud_ with the Privaron Espada in hot pursuit. Renji began a jog, dodging _balas_ and shielding himself from more ceros. Aside from tremendous strength and offensive power, this sword release of his didn't seem to offer any sinister abilities, for which the lieutenant was thankful. Furthermore, it seemed his plan had worked. Athol, despite having reached the ground level again, made no attempt to place himself within the sand again, or even to descend back into the snake's maw.

Renji swung around, holding out his palms. No messing around this time--he needed to set up a sure kill, and to that aim, needed to stop Athol from evading him. Keeping him from seeing an incoming attack sounded like a fine way to do that. He wasn't too great with kido this high-level, so there was no way he was doing it without incantation. He surrounded himself with his bankai again like a shield, trusting it to protect him while he chanted.

" _Create and ravage the earth!_ " he said, pointing his outstretched palm in the direction more ineffectual blasts were ringing out from, " _Sound the chimes in the fields of wheat! Crash about and speak from the mountaintops! Hado number fifty-eight, Tenran!_ "

Uncoiling his bankai at the last second, he let the kido fly, relieved to find that it succeeded in producing the desired effect: a huge whirlwind pointed straight at his enemy. More important than the blowing back of the Arrancar with a fierce gale wind was the sand it kicked up: Athol was caught in a massive spinning wave of sand, so thick Renji was sure he would not be able to see past it. 

The spell ended, Renji swung his bankai, allowing it to rise up into the air for the most reach and radius. Large amounts of energy flowed from his fingertips down the length of the snake skeleton as he initiated a final, single assault: 

" _Hikotsu Taiho!_ " he commanded, and Hihio Zabimaru roared, letting loose an enormous blast of energy that covered the dusty area where Athol now lay in a heap of snake coils.

Both sand and spirit energy flowed outward from the impact point in waves. When the dust cleared, there were no more bloodred coils of any Apep. Renji smiled to himself. A single blast? What a joke this turned out to be. He should've used his bankai from the start.

Renji rushed over, only putting away that bankai when he was sure of what he was seeing. Athol was on his back, coughing and hacking. His zanpakuto lay in the dirt beside him, having reformed into its small jagged knife form. When he saw Renji coming, he backed away on his hands and feet, as if crab-walking. The maddened look had returned to his eyes, though this time it was in fear. Renji stomped over, holding out his own sealed sword and pointing it at Athol's throat.

"Now, you're going to-- _HEY_!"

 _Bvvt_.

Renji swung around to look behind him, back towards the door he'd entered the room from. It was bouncing off of the wall it was attached to, and he began to sprint in its direction in order to chase Athol down, but before he could get his own flash step going, he heard a voice interrupting him. 

"Renji! Over here!"

The lieutenant's attention was drawn to the opposite end of the room. Out of a depression in the wall, another door had been slid open. Standing within its archway was Uryu.

"Don't waste time trying to track him down, he's not worth it. Besides, you'd just get lost again. Come on."

Renji ran his way, happy to find that he was mostly unhurt, although he did look a bit tired. 

"Nice work here." the Quincy said.

"You too. Let's get going." Renji answered. "Is there a way out in the direction you came from?"

"Yes, this room and the room I fought my opponent both connect to a hallway here. We can use it to get into the main fortress, I think."

Now that he was no longer fighting, he could reattune himself to energy signitures. Ichigo and Chad seemed to be finishing off their opponents as well, but on the other hand..... When he reached out his senses far enough, he could find Rukia, somewhere a great distance away, and she was injured, and still fighting. They needed to get to her side and help her.

"Let's hurry." he said, following his friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fair warning: I love snakes. Snakes are so damn cool. I use snakes a lot in my work. This will not be the last snake-themed sword release I write.


	6. Snake Tales

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ashido is revealed, and Rukia finds herself faced with an Espada that wants to mess with her head.

Rukia was staring at the back of Ashido's head. As she walked, she was acutely aware of the slow, but steady drip of blood onto the steps beneath her feet. Still injured. Not quite severe enough to create an emergency, though not well enough to avoid treatment when she was finally in the infirm. She was glad she had performed kaido when she had. What's more, she was headed for not only healing, but hopefully information and strategy.

Despite this, she felt a prickle on the back of her neck. 

"This sure is a long staircase. Getting kind of tired."

Indeed it was. It could only have been two or three minutes, but that was quite a long ways for a single stairway. There wasn't much of a steep angle to it, yet even so, Rukia wondered how far down it went, and if they were near the ground floor, or even underground. Ashido's steps had slowed somewhat, and Rukia fell into step behind him, a little hard-pressed not to fall behind or move ahead. She tried to allow for a certain distance between them, but the gap tightened.

"I would've just appreciated an elevator, to be honest." Rukia joked, though this was untrue. Sure, she was bleeding out, but confined spaces weren't really her thing, and she was already in a very tight stairway. 

"Oh, sorry. You are pretty injured, aren't you?" he said, stopping on his heel suddenly and looking back at her, causing Rukia to stop in turn as she listened. "I'll try to go faster, sorry."

Indeed he did. Turning back around, Ashido began a quick step downward, not quite a jog, taking two of the rather small stairs at a time. Rukia picked up her own pace as well, falling in line behind him, until--

_Schick!_

Rukia let a breath hiss through her teeth. 

"Sorry, did I set you on edge?" came Ashido's whisper. His sword was drawn. "I thought I heard something."

"No you didn't." Rukia said quietly, her own sword drawn and pointing at him, from ten stairs above his position. "I didn't hear anything."

Ashido's face changed subtly. Something behind that muted, usually imperceptible expression reacted to her words. 

"I've been keeping my senses about me, to keep an eye on my friends and their fights. And I haven't sensed any entities besides us two."

Ashido's sword arm drew inward a bit, as if he was thinking about resheathing, but unsure. "Are you okay?"

"I haven't even sensed Kaien's energy since you came from that room into the antechamber." she followed up, practically murmuring now, though she knew he was hearing her voice. "I did sense your killing intent when you drew your sword just now, though."

Ashido turned, now facing her from the side instead of over his shoulder. The change in his face was now more pronounced, and his somber expression was replaced with one of slight chagrin, like he'd been caught doing something petty or sneaky and was embarrassed about it. After a while, he spoke, seemingly unshaken overall. "Onto me?"

"Yes."

"Since?"

"The end of our fight. Part of me had guessed since you first showed up, of course, since I'd been told about a mysterious shape-changing predator. And then when you walked through the door, you called me 'Rukia'." she said, voice a bit louder and clearer. "That's when I knew for sure. I never told Ashido my name, he explicitly told me not to. I can only guess you slipped up in your little manipulative game. And then of course, there's when you tried to swing on me just now by surprise."

"You're very clever."

"And you're dead. _Sokatsui!_ "

Rukia threw out her arm, blasting forward a wave of blue fire that, in their small confined space, could not be evaded, though she saw Ashido, or the impostor calling himself that, throw his sword up to try and block it. To her immense pleasure, she saw him blasted backward off his feet, thrown down the staircase and hitting them hard with each somersault downward, until he reached the bottom some distance away, tumbling through the door at the base of it. She followed him, flashing down the stairs fifteen at a time. Upon reaching the doorway at the end of it, she held back only for a second, leaning against the door in case of retaliation, before slamming it open, sword held in a defensive stance. Her eyes quickly took in the new room around her.

The room she was in seemed to be several times bigger than the antechamber. Judging by her memory of that chamber and the width of the tower when she had first seen it, Rukia would've thought that they were underground by now, but there was none of the claustrophobia that would accompany such a space. It seemed big enough to house the inside of a small church with its extremely high walls. Those walls were the same dark blue, and the lights were a bit dimmer, though not enough that she couldn't see. The room was, as far as she could tell, entirely bare. The only other thing in the room was Ashido, who stood in the center of it, looking her way.

"This is better, isn't it?" came his voice, exactly the same voice she remembered hearing only two hours prior, casual and unconcerned. "There's lots of room in here for us to fight to our heart's content."

"Be quiet." she spat, holding her sword out in front of her. Raising it over her head, she swung it down, chanting the incantation. " _Hado thirty-three! Sokatsui!_ "

Though she succeeded in generating a larger wave of blue fire, it was easily dodged. Ashido sprang into action. Rukia did as well, running to meet him head-on. He was ready for her to block, and nearly slashed her with his feint. _Clang, clang, clang_ came the resumed sound of their blades clashing against one another. He was right, this room was much preferable--Rukia didn't need to worry about being backed against a wall or running out of room. With this in mind, she started out on the defensive, putting everything she had into learning the substantial power behind his attacks and trying to memorize his patterns.

 _He's not holding anything back this time_ , Rukia thought, as she jumped back to avoid a slash, hand ready to fly out behind her in anticipation of any _sonído_ tricks. The strength behind his attacks was greater than it had been when this beast was posing as Kaien. Worse still, Ashido's fighting style seemed to differ from Kaien's, with much more moving around and jabs and stabs than sweeping swings. Rukia could not rely on memory of previous fights, having only had one short spar with the real thing that ended in her loss. The imposter, however, seemed to be having no such difficulty, and was not stumbling as he employed an entirely different variety of swordplay from the one used only ten minutes before.

_Clang, clang...._

"You're quite good," came Ashido's voice from behind his flashing blade, "but I don't quite think you've got what it takes!"

Rukia only bared her gritted teeth, refusing to answer. She continued to try to block his attacks, adjusting to his strength, until she heard the low disrupt of high-speed movement again.

" _Uugh!_ "

Rukia felt Ashido's foot slam into her stomach and flew backwards, biting down on her tongue. She landed on her feet, though she slid a good distance against the floor and struggled to regain her balance. Undeterred, she pushed forward again, swinging. 

"What's wrong?" came the smooth, calm tone from behind the flashing steel. "Is my face making it hard for you to concentrate?"

Again, Rukia did not dignify him with an answer, though it was true. She refused to be thrown off her game due to mind games by an arrogant Arrancar. She tried for a stab, and found her blade skidding along his own.

What did throw her off, however, was sensing a large fluctuation in the spiritual pressures at the edge of her senses, strong enough to interfere with her focus on the fight in front of her. A misstep was her punishment, resulting in Ashido counterattacking and landing a glancing cut along her cheek. She jumped back, alarmed. It must have shown on her face.

"Are you worried about your friends?" he said, casually letting his blade scrape across the ground, leaving a long mark along it. "You should be. They're fighting _Privaron_ Espada, the fallen ones. Of course, that means you got the short end of the _STICK!_ " he said, suddenly shouting as with a grin, he renewed his assault. Rukia swung to meet him, but ducked under his blade, trying for a slash at the back of his neck. This, too, failed.

"I wonder, did you worry for _me?_ "

Rukia froze, tensed hands refusing to stay still despite herself. What was he playing at?

" _I hope you did. I got in way over my head, after all."_ came the taunting voice. _"Couldn't you have spared just one fighter or two to aid me? I know it wouldn't have made a difference, but it was terrifying, you know. I was alone with my worst nightmare, getting the shit beaten out of me. I tried to fight back, I tried my hardest. It didn't do any good, of course. I kept kicking myself for trying to fight him alone. In the end, when things started getting really shitty, I actually called out for help. Funny thing is, I didn't know your name. All I could do is call out to thin air for help while he broke my limbs and then devour̶e̛d m̶̵͟ȩ̸ w̸͜͞h͟o̶̴͜͞l̡̧̡͘͜e̷̛͟͞._ "

Rukia's hands shook more than ever, and when he next charged her, she dodged rather than try to fend him off. He continued speaking as he pressed his advantage.

" _It wasn't quick, either. He left me broken and helpless, and he gave me a good long look at that handsome mouth. The one he swallowed me with head-first. It hurt, and I couldn't breathe--_ "

"SHUT UP!" Rukia said, sending kido bolts flying in her rage, all of which were blocked or dodged by the Arrancar. "QUIT SAYING THOSE WORDS WITH HIS MOUTH!"

Disrespect to the dead was the gravest sin. Any soul reaper knew that. Half of her was drowning in horror, the other half burning in anger. Inside her, struggling to break free of a thick layer of fear, was a livid rage that wanted to carve this sick predator's head open. She would not listen to his taunts any longer.  _This isn't going to work_ , she thought, _if I keep playing his game I'm done for_. He knew the hand she was waiting to play, so she might as well play it. Holding her sword forward, she called its release command.

" _Dance! Sode no Shirayuki!_ "

The white blade came forth, the ribbon flowing through the air behind it. Ashido flashed towards her, bringing down his blade, and she met it with her own, pleased to find that his strike was not so difficult to block with more spirit energy flowing through her than before. 

One, two, three, four, five blows rained down and were blocked before Rukia went on the offensive, swinging downward and launching a wave of ice. Ashido leaped backward, landing atop the frozen wave just before it crumbled away. He stopped, appraising her. Before he could open his mouth to speak, she swung her blade, resulting in a circle of white energy bursting upwards into an ice pillar. This was dodged just the same.

"The White Moon is the first dance," he commented, "and the White Wave is the second dance. You haven't forgotten that I know those moves, do you? I taught them to you, after all."

He was drawing on Kaien's memories.

"Tell me!" She commanded, "How are you able to take on the shape of Kaien Shiba? He never went to Hueco Mundo."

"It's simple." Ashido answered, casually twirling his zanpakuto. "The beast that devoured and possessed him, Metastacia, was an experiment of Lord Aizen's. When he returned to Hueco Mundo on its defeat, I consumed him, and gained both his powers and that of Kaien Shiba."

Rukia's eyes widened. It was not this explanation of events that caused her stress, but its underlying implication. Unbidden, vivid memories of the night Kaien died resurfaced, clear as though they were happening right in front of her all over again. The monstrous Hollow, called Metastacia by this still-unnamed Arrancar, had held another power in addition to its possession skills. Once per night, it could sap the power from any single zanpakuto that was released in its vicinity. This had hamstrung Kaien, giving the Hollow enough advantage to defeat him and take control of his body. If this Arrancar truly did have not just Kaien's powers, but Metastacia's as well...and she had just released her zanpakuto seconds ago....

"Well, if you're planning on fighting me with your shikai," Ashido said, leading Rukia to fear the worst for an instant, "then I guess I'll be courteous and show you mine."

Though she didn't have to see her zanpakuto stolen from her, Rukia stepped back to prepare for a far greater onslaught, as Ashido held out his zanpakuto before him.

" _Descend, Kanashimi!_ "

As Rukia watched, the zanpakuto transformed, lengthening and becoming what seemed to be a staff before the end widened and became a metal plate. Ashido was now holding a long shovel, the handle a shining polished black and the spade, which capped the pole, a dark gray. Though it was an unconventional weapon, Rukia did not let her guard down.

Ashido walked forward casually, leaning on the shovel. "It's not quite so pretty as the most beautiful zanpakuto in all of Soul Society, is it? But I like to think he made good use of it, don't you?"

No sooner had he finished speaking than he was lunging forward. The balance of power was again shifted, and Rukia again struggled due to the increased power. The only saving grace was that she only had to guard against the spade, which was much wider and easier to deflect than a sword, though this didn't mean much with his increased speed and pressure. 

_Clingt! Clang! Schhck!_

Worse still, his fighting style had changed a second time, forcing her to adjust. Rukia found herself taking more and more steps back as she tried to compensate for the difference. Time and time again, she deflected his blows, until an opening arrived and she swung, ice and snow traveling alone her blade to be launched in another rippling wave. Predicting her failure to catch Ashido in it, she threw her arm out, sending forth another blast of blue fire. Swinging his shovel in a wide arc, Ashido dissipated the blast.

 _Sonído_ again took him a greater distance back. Ashido began to swing his _Kanashimi_ around by the metal length, and Rukia's first thought was that he was preparing some projectile that she needed to be ready to dodge. Rather, he slammed the spade into the floor, burying it halfway in. As Rukia watched, he yanked, pulling out from the spade the pole, which now ended in a long tapering point, turning it into a spear. Reeling back his foot, Ashido sent it forward and kicked, launching the half-buried spade through the floor towards her, leaving a ditch carved in its wake. Rukia leaped backwards as it approached, wary of tricks, but nothing happened. Peering forward, she thought she must have been had for a moment, but shrieked out as the ground seemed to explode.

"Aaugh!" _What the hell are these?_

Rukia's arms were restrained by the strange things that had burst out of the ground around the planted spade, and she saw that they were black vines, shiny just like the shovel-spear. Her movements were restricted, and she struggled to free her captive arms and legs while another one wound around her throat. Looking forward, she saw that same sadistic gleam from earlier in Ashido's eyes.

" _Some no mai!_ "

He lunged, but too late--

" _Tsukishiro!_ "

The white circle surrounded her, and chilling energy flooded Rukia as she was taken by her own blast. The pillar of white rose up around her and encased her in ice. Burning cold pain enveloped her, and somewhere in the distance, she heard a muffled tap that was the point of the spear piercing into her circle of ice just two feet away and being stopped short of piercing her. Once she felt the vines around her become brittle, she allowed the spell to fade, and the ice cracked and crumbled, dissolving into large chunks and flurries of flakes. She was free, though injured.

"Interesting." came Ashido's comment. "Why didn't you wait for me to stab you first? Then you could've caught me in the circle."

"Not worth the extra damage." Rukia huffed, seeing her breath fog in front of her before lifting her sword again, but Ashido did not move to attack her. An instant before it happened, Rukia dodged out of the way as the ground underneath her exploded again, fifteen-foot black vines reaching to grapple her again.

 _The spade produces the vines when buried in the earth, and the spear finishes them off once the target is restrained_ , she observed, fleeing while Ashido simply walked, moving only enough to keep his eyes on her. She sprinted, vines pursuing her as she moved around the enormous room. Their chase of her seemed quite driven, and automatic. Rather than sprout where the last set of vines had reached the end and travel in a line towards her, they burst from the ground as close to her as possible. Several times, Rukia slashed a stray vine that was faster or closer than expected, but thankfully there were no more calls as close as the one she initially had. But she was still on the defensive. There was no point in attempting to freeze the vines if more sprouted to ensnare her when she tried. What was she supposed to do? She couldn't fight like this. Even with all of the room in the chamber, she was being pressed towards the wall.

As she thought of counter-strategies, the answer presented itself to her quickly: this was an earth-type zanpakuto, evidently. And she would be safe, at least from the vines, if she could get out of their reach, and then she could focus on Ashido. Thankfully, this chamber's high ceiling made that easy.

Springing upward, Rukia shot herself into the air, pulling the reishi in the air underneath her to create a stepping stone. Twenty feet, then forty, seemed more than enough space between her and the ground. Peering at Ashido back on the ground, she armed herself properly, holding _Sode no Shirayuki_ out in front of her and preparing to send an ice blast down at him--

_CRASH._

Dirt and chunks of wall hit her in the back of the head, and Rukia found herself being yanked backward. Her arms and waist were again held in a tight grip, preventing her from swinging her sword or maneuvering free. Panic overtook her as she realized she had made a grave error. As she craned her head around, she confirmed what she already knew: the vines had come up through the wall and sprung her. She looked down, trying to find Ashido before he could pounce on his opportunity, trying at the same time to yank her left arm free, but--

" _AAUGH!!_ "

Too late. Her eyes, screwed shut in pain, opened a second later to find Ashido grinning maniacally as he held the black spear that had pierced her through the abdomen and continued out of her body, pinning her to the wall. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so begins one of the two Espada battles that occurs in this part of the fix fic. Arro-Ashido is far from done.  
> * _Kanashimi_ = "Sorrow".


	7. Sorrow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The battle with Arro-Ashido continues.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before we begin, I'd like to formally state that I don't have any more of a clue how to write a Kansai regional accent anymore than the dubbers did, so I tend to gravitate towards the dub's use of a more polite, formal way of speaking, and I try to use that here when writing Gin.

Gin strode out onto the sand. With flash step, it had taken only a few seconds to come out this far from the main complex, where he could see the shape of a man limping at a surprising speed. Thus far, he'd kept his spiritual pressure under a tight wrap to keep from alerting his quarry. Not that it mattered. Being only a Privaron Espada, it made no real difference if he knew he was being tracked or not, which is why he let it loose now, flowing across the desert and creating a light stirring of sand around him.

He watched the invisible signature pass over the man, who stopped short as though hitting a wall. After a moment in which even at this distance, Gin could swear he saw a drop of sweat roll down the man's face, he began running outright, quickly turning into a sprint despite his injuries. Evidently his target had defeated him, but not taken care enough to keep him from running away. The kids these days were so very lazy... He could easily reach him with _Shinso_ from here, but then, that wouldn't be any _fun_ for him.

The Exequias would be taking care of the other defeated Privaron Espada right now. He, however, had taken it upon himself to mop up this little problem without assistance. Execution was often the standard punishment for losing to the enemy faction in Las Noches, but today it was more about getting rid of the ones who weren't useful. The modern Espada, being the strongest right now, tended to be a bit less replaceable. As for the fallen, their time was long since over. Really, out with the old and in with the new. If they couldn't stop an invasion by some lieutenant-level soul reapers, then it was time to admit that they were obsolete. 

Even so, Athol's punishment was not the punishment given to a loser. It would be the one given to a _coward_. The cowardice wasn't the part where he ran away from his opponent to preserve his life. It was the part where he was, right now, trying to run from his _superiors_ to preserve his life.

Another flash, and he landed right in front of his prey. Athol yelped and fell backwards, scurrying away from Gin, who made no effort to pin him down.

"You're looking well, Athol."

"G-Gin!"

"Yes, that's my name."

"I-I, y-you--"

"Am here to chat."

The stuttering continued for a moment, but died down quickly. Athol knew he was cornered, but seemingly couldn't help himself from looking around, trying to find some way around Gin, his eyes shifting back and forth, even up and down as if to vanish into the sky or disappear into the sand.

"You and the other fallen Espada are what we like to call _gatekeepers_ , you know?"

Wary and nervous, Athol slowly rose up from the ground, taking a few steps back. He continued.

"You're our first line of defense. We use you to test the minimum of the barriers keeping out our enemies, gauge both their strength and our own. There was a fellow a while back when I was in Soul Society that was a very chivalrous kind of guy. Lots of integrity, and all that. According to his ideas, when a foe appeared at the gate to challenge the gatekeeper, if he lost, the gate opened. Sounds almost like a knight's code, don't you think? I liked that guy."

Slowly, Athol nodded. Gin could tell by his expression and the way his eyes seemed to change that he was latching onto this fact, and thinking he might have a slim chance at mercy. In fairness, it wasn't a lie. Jidanbo Ikkanzaka was a colossal idiot, but no one would hear Gin say he wasn't a decent fellow. Athol was a good enough liar, but even he couldn't trick himself into believing he had integrity like that.

"I was able to get off with just cutting off his arm, as it happens," he said, taking _Shinso_ out of his belt. Damn, but the changes in expression each time he finished talking were quite funny to see on Athol. He was now turning a virulent shade of green, and lifted his right arm up to his left. Unconciously, maybe? The gears in his head were clearly working to decide whether he could agree to having a limb removed. Obviously, there was no contest to be had. Gin slowly lifted Shinso and pointed it at him. Those eyes bugged out, fixating on the silver blade with its s-shaped tsuba. 

"S-so, what you're saying is--"

"But that was then, and this is now. That was Soul Society, and this is Las Noches. When the gatekeeper is defeated, it doesn't mean he opens the gate. It means he's dead." he said softly.

The face of desperation slowly turned into the face of horror, less like a man fearing for his life at the hands of another man, and more like a small rodent faced with the jaws of a snake. As Gin watched, after several seconds of short-circuiting, Athol turned on his heel and ran, stumbling at first and then breaking into another sprint. He let him go for a little bit, humming. Predictable. After the sight of it got boring, he released his shikai, not bothering with the release command.

The silver blade glowed white and extended at high speed, impaling Athol through the back and piercing him straight through the spine and heart. With a flick of his wrist, Gin pulled the blade upward, carving the Arrancar in two straight up through the neck and head. 

* * *

Rukia coughed up blood. 

For the second time tonight, she had been impaled through the gut. This time was all the worse, as she was now pinned helplessly to a wall by a mortal enemy in the process. Weakly, she tried to move one of her feet, and found that she could move it. Good, he had missed her spine. She struggled as much as she could, fighting the vines that held her, particularly with her left hand. If she could just get a spell off...

She cried out in pain again, however, when she felt the spear move. It was being twisted--no, pulled. She heard the wall behind her crack and creak as the tip of the spear began to dislodge itself. Looking forward, she found Ashido with his hands gripping the spear, pulling it out bit by bit and trying to yank it free. Past her cloud of pain, she realized she had to do something. If she didn't, he would cause more damage when he pulled the spear free, and then he would kill her by slamming it through her heart, neck, or head. 

"Hhhgh--"

A vine snapped. Rukia's bleeding left hand closed itself over the spear, gripping it tightly. She cried out again when Ashido yanked, but she held fast. Blood ran down her stomach out of the wound. Though he pulled, she pulled back, refusing to let him remove the weapon. 

"You're tough, aren't you?"

Rukia met his eyes and found him sizing her up. She knew that he could easily overpower her and remove the spear if he wanted, and yet he instead stepped away mid-air. Adrenaline was doing a poor job of keeping her pain at bay, and she blinked back a wetness in her eyes. And then, that tell-tale glow. Rukia's eyes widened as Ashido began to charge that blue-violet orb in his hand, and held it out towards her in a firing stance. He began stepping backward, making distance between them so as not to be caught in the overflow.

Panic shot through her. She was pinned down and couldn't evade the blast. There was no choice except to try blocking it. 

" _Hado thirty-three!_ " she shouted, throwing her own arm forward as she tried to counterattack, and the rush of the firing cero ringing in her ears, " _Sokatsui!_ "

The wave of blue flame shot forth from her hand once more, meeting the cero blast head-on. Rukia's jaws ground together as she held her arm in front of her face. The two blasts collided, and Rukia felt herself slammed back against the wall, the back of her head hitting the wall and continuing to sink into it. As her head pounded, she realized that the wall was caving in behind her. Left with nothing to support her up and no reishi beneath her feet anymore, she fell, rolling through the air and hitting the ground hard, falling against it afterwards but rushing to her feet. Something wasn't right.

Reaching for her stomach, she found that the spear was gone. She hadn't realized it since the injury was still there, but surely it would've been that much worse just now if it had still been there. What had happened just now? Had he removed it? Peering up from the ground, she found Ashido, some distance away and a good deal up in the air, looking down at her. There was a look of disdain on his face. He wasn't holding the spear....but then, as she watched, it manifested in his hand again from nothing, pointing down at her.

Had something caused it to disappear? Rukia looked back down at her wound, and as she did, she realized she was creating a long shadow. Sunlight was hitting her from behind, and a glance confirmed that the section of wall she'd been pinned too had been blasted clean away, revealing the sunlight. An idea occurred to her.

And none too soon. A whistling noise from overhead reminded her that she didn't have time to be sitting around and idly looking at things. She leaped back, evading Ashido's downward slam with the spear. She gripped _Sode no Shirayuki_ tightly, swinging it in an arc and sending a spread of freezing air in his direction. She watched him vault over the assault before freeing the weapon. A slight rumbling underneath her feet told her to dodge again, and she resumed her frantic fleeing.

 _Bzzt_.

Her white blade clashed with the black spear, sparks coming from the scrape of metal on metal. Rukia used the opening as _Kanashimi_ slid off of her sword, and swung. Success! A wound opened up on Ashido's chest, sending him stumbling back.

" _Hado thirty-one! Shakkaho!_ "

Ashido dodged the red fireball that launched from her palm, as expected. It would have been nice to hit, but she was more interested in the effect it had on the opposite wall it hit after traveling a hundred feet. The ground burst behind her, but she was already gone. As she watched, the fireball exploded with great force, but didn't leave much more than a dusting of ash and some flaking at the spot where it hit. As she continued to dodge assaults from vines and Ashido's spear, Rukia ventured back towards the spot where she had been impaled. As she grew closer to the spot of light on the ground, Ashido raised his hand, letting loose another cero that she ducked under.

Several details began to connect themselves in her mind at once.

There was sunlight outside. Fake sunlight, but sunlight all the same. The spear and the vines had vanished when the wall broke and released that sunlight into the chamber. This impostor had said that he didn't like the light, and now he was avoiding going near it while using his stolen abilities. From what she had just done, it didn't seem like she'd be able to break the wall by herself. The resulting explosion from her _Sokatsui_ spell colliding with a cero couldn't have made such a drastic difference, which meant that there was another factor. Ashido was now coming after her, but for the most part still seemed content to allow vines to track her, and why wouldn't he be? They could follow her virtually anywhere close enough to the edges of the room, after all, and it was easier to do so. Her guess was that the vines forcing their way through the floor and walls caused structural damage inside them, to the extent of weakening them enough for that explosion to blast out the wall behind her.

Rukia dodged another assault by _Kanashimi_ 's vines and a subsequent stab from the spear, and launched herself into the air again. The enormous room was rectangular, and one pair of walls presented the greatest stretch of surface. She landed with both feet against it, a current of reishi being pulled to support her sideways movements. Waiting for that tell-tale sensation under her feet, she began to jog along it, sprinting when a vine came too close. She ran the length of the wall, hearing vines blasting out from the wall behind her as she went. As she ran, she pulled her arms to her side, gathering energy and chanting.

" _Ye lord! Mask of blood and flesh, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! On the wall of blue flame, inscribe a twin lotus. In the abyss of conflagration, wait at the far heavens._ "

When she had run a hundred, a hundred and fifty, then two hundred feet, she turned, throwing out her arm and aiming her spell at the length of wall, covered in writhing shadowy brambles, at an angle.

" _Hado seventy-three! Soren Sokatsui!_ "

An enormous eruption of hot blue-white energy was generated from her outstretched palms. It crashed over the wall, annihilating it in a fiery, vivid display. When the blast dissipated, the vines were gone, leaving in their place a long stretch of open air through which sunlight streamed through. As she looked down, she found her plan had worked.

Caught in the light, small trails of smoke coming up from his body, was not Ashido. It wasn't Kaien either; rather, it was some sort of being with an odd capsule for a head. A tube, or jar, rose up from where a neck would be, and inside was bubbling red liquid. Peering closer, she found that there were two small objects floating inside, which she quickly realized were Hollow heads when they started speaking to her. 

"Y̮͔o͓̦̫̞͉u'͔̙̟͎̟̩v̱̙͈̥̤̰e̝̳̱̫̬̠ ̮̯b͙̺e̟̥̣ͅe̤̱̺ṋ͖̠̼̱͙̣ ̭̺p̟͈ay͉̯̟̜̘i͕̫̗̣͙͎̪n̪g̙͚ ͔ ͖mo̲͇r̤̜̻̣e a͕͈͇̤͎̭t̙͙̮͇tenṭ̤̖̖̹͕i̮̺̬o̻̼ṉ͈̳ th̤̣̫̖͔̲ͅḁ̭̠͉͎̲̭n̦͙̤̜ ͕̼I ̣̥th̟͈͍͓̖ͅo̘̳̭u̳̯̥͔gh͇̟̫t͚̙͉̮ͅ.͓ͅ"

Rukia said nothing. Though she had her conviction and her fighting skill, it was still nice to see the hideous face--or pair of faces--under the mask, and realize she could slay them with no guilt. She stared down at the two golf ball-sized Hollows, finding a '9' tattooed on both of them.

"I̿̆ͥ̈̒ͨfͭͨ͐ i͐ͪ̅t̍̉̾'̂̿̿̽ͤs͒̓͛ͧ ͂ͣ̿̾͛ͨͩa͌ͫb̒̏́̾ͮ̚o͐u̾̋͌͌̌ẗ́ ̄ͭ͛̋͛̾oͣ̑ͤu͒ṙ̾̋ͣͥ͗͋ ͣ̒ͬͥfͭa͊͗cͦͫe͛̔̇ͤ͆s̽̽̈́̆̀͆,̃ ͂͐̍̈́̏̒̀kͨ̓̓̚ee͗̇̃͌p̐͋ͦ̊ ͐it̾̈ t͆ͦ̌o yͪͩͨôͯ͐ͤuͭͪ̓̂̎̄r͗ͥs͋ͧeͫ̐ͥ̓l̾͌f.̿͒ ̃̿́͐̈ͩ͛W͐̒e͐̔̌ͪ ̈̀ͧ̈ͨ͊͂g̾̂̔ͩ̎̀̈oͥ̂͌̐̍̒t͒͛̓̐ ̾̂̀̂t̿̇iͣrͧ̀ͣͨ̏̐ê̈́̈́̈̂d ͥ͒̍ò̋̈́͂͗͊f̉̉ͯ̌ͥͨ ̌ͦ̅͒ͩ̓̈́ĥ̈e̚aͣͮr̂ͪ̓̾̈́̍iͪ̂n̈ͫ̀͋̉͗gͨͨ ̇͐͛̃̍p͑ͦͤē͑o͆p̐̏̂̈ͧ̊ľe̍ͧ̎̔͐'̆s̉ ̐̐͊̄̐tͦ̆̓h̔͆̑ͧ̓͆o̒͑̚u̒ͥͨ͂̋ǧ͒̉ͥ̈́h̅t̄͋͐ŝ̓̓ͯ̐̚ ̄aͣ̓ͥ̎b͂̽̽ͦͦo̐ͪͬ̀ͨut̓̐ tͭhͯͪe͊͆̇ͩ̃̔̐m̂͛ͧ ͩ͋a̔ͨ v͊̔̀̓ͦͧe͋͋͆r̒́̉ỳ̐ͨ̍̈́͗̒ ͆̿̂ͦ̋l̊̿̌̇ͫ̓o͗͋ng͐ tͭ̚i͒̈̄̃͂͆m̌ͣ̍̑̏ȅͩ͌ ͤ͒ͫ̎̏͂aͬ̓ͬ̏g̽o͛̐ͯ̐̿.̌̉" came the high-pitched voice from earlier.

"Whatever you say." Rukia answered, failing to heed the request and mocking them anyway. "It doesn't surprise me that you want to look like other people. Do you have a name under that facade, too?"

"Pe̴r͏hap̕s̕. B̡ut͘ ͢wh҉y͡ ̨te͝lļ ̴i̴t to ͘yo͠u͏ ̸w̢h͝en̸ ̨t̛h̨e ̸sou̕n͜d of y̵o͞u sayin̵g ҉' _A-͡A-͟As̸h̵ido̶_ '̸ is̨ ̧s̶ǫ ̕pleas҉i̡n̨g̡?" both heads spoke simultaneously, creating a distortion that chilled her.

"Be quiet! I want to know who I've killed when I leave this building!"

"T͏ǫ o͡ur fe͢llo͠w͞ ͝E̛s͠pada, we̢ ͟are ca̴ll̨e͡d͟ ̧A͠a͢r͜oni͞er͏o͢ Ar҉r͘ur͘uer҉įe.͟ ̨But̕ t̶ell ̵me,̶ wh̢y ͘are you͟ ͝s̵o c̷onfident t̶ha҉t ͠y̧o͏u'͠ll ̸kill̸ ųs?"

"Because you're powerless in the sunlight. Your shapeshifting doesn't work anymore. Now I can fight you without having to worry about your little tricks."

"Yo͟u͞ ͢r̸eal̕l̡y͝ ͟t̕hi̕nk it ͢w͡a͠s̸ ̨s͢ly tri͏c͘ks t̡h͜a̕t͢ k͞ept y̛o͡u͟ from har̸mįn҉g͝ m̴e? K͘ņo͝wi̧ng̵ your̛ ͡s̴k̴i͟ll ąs ͠I ̸do,̨ I͝'̶d say y̨o͘u'̧re o͜v͢er̷es̡ti͘m̡a͘t̡ing̵ you̶r̕s͘elf̵.̡" the voices taunted.

"B̘͚̳̠͔̞̲e͉̬s̩̟͓i̤̙̮̫̱͚d̝͕̩̻es̫̤͙͙̖,̬̠̙̣ ̲̜̥̞̱͎in̗͙ ̻̻̩̤̝̝th̹̻̺e͈̯ ̠̙s͈̦͖̻h̝̱͖aͅd̲o̬͓̼ͅws̤̗͖̞̳.̻.̤̱̻̦̳.̮̠ͅ" came the low-pitched voice, and Arroniero strode back out of the beam of sunlight shining on him, back into the darkness of the rest of the room, "W̩̖̮͍̘e̬̺̮ ̖̜̜̘c̳͚̗͕̼̼͙a͔̖̳ṇ̺̭̟̪͍ ̬̟̺̺̥̫us̖e̹̪͉͕̣ ͉͈̳͕̣̺̩o͓̭u͍̠̹̙͈͍r͓ p̗̜̣̬͓̲̝o͓͈wer̻̺̺s̯̰̻̼̜̹ ̜as̭̲ ̙̞͖͓͖̜m̪̮̯̳̲̞u͎̤͙̖̲̹c̜͍̮͈̱ͅḥ̝ ̠̱a͈s̖̹͍̤̪ ̹̗w̰̱͓̤̝̞e͉͔ ͉̺̹̤͚̯̯l̩̻͈͔̘̩̼i̝͕̬ͅk̮̱̲̱ͅe̤̺̤.̺̘͓̗̰͎̰"

Rukia braced herself for an onslaught, holding her sword in front of her and taking care to protect her wounded abdomen. As she watched though, something odd happened to the tank containing Aaroniero's two heads. With a gelatinous squelch, a blob of liquid-like something appeared on the front of the tank, which quickly grew and expanded over its surface. From its center, a bulbous protrusion was created, which became a nose, and which was followed by lips underneath it, and then milky white forming into teeth. More white expanded out from the mass, becoming a warped eye, followed by another on the other side. Slowly, the face of Kaien Shiba began to flow over the mask, solidifying into a head bit by bit, left half-distorted and sickeningly stunted until it finally finished, black hair rising over the tank's top. Indistinguishable from the real thing.

"I see that the vines won't work on you anymore, will they?"

Rukia was unnerved. Watching this display should have sealed her convictions, but it was disturbing to the core, watching her former mentor's face be molded from nothing onto the surface of some medical tank. When he spoke, she should have seen the glass behind his lips and teeth, but she found nothing.

"I'll stop using them, then."

The face seemed to melt, becoming soft and liquid-like before shifting slightly and sharpening back into the features of Ashido Kano, dark red seeping down into the black of Kaien's hair. Kanashimi rematerialized in his right hand, the low-pitched sound of _sonído_ reached her again, and she braced herself, counterswinging. Her white blade clashed against the black spear, sparks flying.

Despite the pain of the hole in her body, Rukia gritted her teeth and resolved to fight back harder than before. If she didn't, she'd die, and if she died, she couldn't save Orihime. 


	8. Onslaught

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The battle with Arro-Ashido hits its peak.

Rukia tightened her grip on her sword, gleaming white blade flat against her palm as she held it vertical to block a strike against her wounded abdomen. Her opponent was fast, and merciless, as well as skilled. His true focus was always the grievous wound she'd already sustained, but every time she thought she'd figured out his pattern, the point of the spear would swerve in another direction, usually at her head or leg.

_Bvvt. Bvvt. Bvvt._

The two of them danced around one another, Arro-Ashido attempting to catch her off-guard with repeated uses of  _sonído_ from a different direction every second and a half, and she used her flash step just as liberally, not only to outpace him and land hits of her own, with which she'd been so far unsuccessful, but to keep herself from being whittled down. Glancing blows had already landed twice, one on her arm and another on her cheek, leaving small cuts, but she ignored them. Far more difficult to ignore was the hole through her midsection, from which she bled out with each movement and which held her in an iron grip of agony. Only adrenaline kept her fighting for her life instead of collapsing to the ground.

She grit her teeth as the scrape of his weapon against hers shook through her bones again, sliding inbetween her raised arm and head, and she found herself greatful that his weapon was a lance and didn't have an edge with which to cut her head off. She swung, trying to land what would be a heavy slash from his ribcage to his waist, but it did not land. Frustration came over her, then panic as she saw her shadow arrive on the floor in front of her, surrounded by violet light. He was behind her.

_"Aaugh!"_

She let the momentum of her failed attack carry her forward and onto the floor, sprawling as the blast flew over her head. There had been almost no charge time behind that one, but there didn't need to be. Injured as she was, a light blast was all that would be needed to seal her fate. The pain of it against the cold hard ground was another harsh reminder of the wound. She rolled sideways, clumsily but quickly, to evade the imminent strikes, pushing off with her hands and moving at high speed again to regain her balance on her feet.

 _Bvvtvvtvvtvvtvvtvvtvvtvvtvvtvvt_ \--

Rukia froze, though only for an instant. In the span of that instant, Arro-Ashido was everywhere and nowhere, flashing back and forth to cover every possible position to attack her from. Her confusion kept her vulnerable before she overcame it. There was an opportunity here, but there was no time for fanciful attack calls. She sprang upward away from the circle made by his assault and at an angle with her white blade glowing with cold power. The sound of metal piercing stone told her she'd dodged his strike, and she had an opportunity. Turning over in the air, she activated the ring of ice once more, which sprang up as she righted herself mid-air. 

No time to contemplate her success, as she had indeed finally managed to land a solid hit and caught Arro-Ashido inside the circle. She threw her sword horizontal out in front of her preemptively, and her other arm out to generate another blast of red flames, which she sent downward. It struck, but the ice shattered a nanosecond too soon, and the black lance slammed against her sword again from above, sending her skidding downwards.

_"Aah--!"_

Red had flown by her, catching her on her shoulder and burning her; another bala. She recoiled, and tried to bring her sword up again, but this time was caught and could not deflect him. His weapon was brought down over hers again, and she felt her legs nearly give. A grunt of pain and strain left her as she tried to press back up and push him off--at this angle, if she tried to slide out from under him, she'd no doubt catch a nasty follow-up. 

 _I can't keep up with all of his abilities being used so rapidly_ , she thought. Without factoring in skill, strength, or even her wound that was ticking her down with each passing moment, the advantage was Arro-Ashido's. His hollow powers, save the cero charging, did not require more than half a second's activation time. Even if she wanted to use kido quickly, calling out the attack names couldn't be bypassed like with her zanpakuto's powers, so she was forced to take more time to cast them. All she needed to get off was one good spell, but she'd never get one off at this rate if she kept playing it safe. _And I don't have time to play it safe, I'm only going to get weaker as the battle goes on. Going to have to get risky if I want to win._

She sidestepped, right palm coming away from the blade where it had been pushing back and lunging out to grab _Kanashimi_ , keeping it from sweeping her and keeping herself from losing balance when when it slid past her and down into the ground again. Now facing perpendicular towards him, she kicked her foot out. She saw the hand coming up to blast her in retaliation, and prayed that it was a cero to buy her an extra instant or two as she hooked her foot behind Arro-Ashido's ankle, using her continued hold on the spear as leverage. Her grasp of hakuda was not that much better than her command of a sword, and the vast difference in height and weight would make this difficult.

While pulling his leg out from underneath him with hers and one hand keeping her leaned on his spear, she pushed her remaining blade hand into his side, hilt first, to aid in knocking him off balance. The blast of violet missed her by an inch, and she felt an unpleasant tug on her scalp as hair was swept away from the side of her head. But he went down, losing balance and falling onto his back, letting go of the spear in the process. There was no time to waste if she wanted to hold this advantage. Stepping back to preserve herself, she shot out two fingers and pointed them downward at him, even as he rose to his feet:

" _Bakudo number four! Hainawa!_ "

The crackling yellow energy cable burst from her fingertips, and shot forward to wrap itself around the still-recovering Arro-Ashido. She saw a look of alarm and frustration overcome her opponent before he stumbled back, barely managing to keep himself upright. Now was her chance.

" _Bakudo number sixty-one! Rikujōkōrō!_ "

Before her, the cable, made of light-based energy, writhed and loosened, sparking outwards before re-creating itself as six thin, rectangular beams, which slammed back into Arro-Ashido at the midsection, paralyzing him. She had figured out this technique while training to fight Arrancars with Orihime: not only did _Hainawa_ work well with  _Rikujōkōrō_ , but one being able to serve as the catalyst for another meant that a large chunk of energy was shaved off of what she needed to give to form the second, more demanding spell, not needing to create the six beams from her own. That, along with the lack of a full incantation, meant that she didn't need to provide but a tiny bit of energy to unleash a relatively strong bakudo spell. It wasn't likely to hold him for long, not without the incantation, but she needed that extra energy for the coup de grace. She'd make up for it by stacking another bind, this time by using _Sode no Shirayuki's_ energy with her own.

" _Tsugi no mai! Hakuren!_ "

The white wave blasted outward from the blade of her sword as she swung it, rushing forward and crashing over the bound Arrancar. Left in its wake when it dissipated was a large chunk of ice, encasing both her enemy and the still-glowing kido that kept him paralyzed. Her plan was coming into its completion.

 _That should keep him occupied for a while_ , she thought. She had bought herself forty seconds, maybe sixty. She leapt backwards, and took her stance.

_"Ye lord! Mask of blood and flesh, all creation, flutter of wings,"_

Now, she had a choice to make. Arro-Ashido was bound and frozen, so she could potentially take this opportunity to aim her blast straight at him, and potentially cause grievous damage, but at the cost of shattering her bindings. Or...

" _ye who bears the name of Man! On the wall of blue flame, inscribe a twin lotus._ "

Now accustomed to it, she felt the slight rumble beneath her feat before the vines broke the surface of the floor beneath her, and she leapt backwards again. _Or_ , she could go with her original plan, and deal with _that_. 

 _Crack._ The first sound of her barrier weakening. _He's trying to buy himself time,_ she realized.

" _In the abyss of conflagration, wait at the far heavens."_ "

More vines, and more evasion, but now the spell was ready. She aimed it forward, angled so as to hit the longest remaining wall behind Arro-Ashido, unleashing the enormous blast of blue energy.

" _Sōren Sōkatsui!_ "

The eruption annihilated the black vines that barred its way and kept going, crashing against the wall with an enormous boom. The result was a long series of cracks breaking up the otherwise still immaculate wall. Damn it, not enough--she needed more.

_Crack._

Using flash step this time, she continued to dodge the vines, and repeated her incantation in full. This time, the energy it took shook her, and she felt dizzy. Surely a second hit would destroy the wall outright, wouldn't it? The spell tore from her palms, leaving them smoking slightly, and washed over the cracked wall. When it was gone, there was a larger series of cracks spreading across the wall like a spiderweb. A tiny beam of sunlight was poking through one near the edge expanse where it met the ceiling. But still, it stood.

_Crack._

Rukia refused to let the thought that perhaps she'd made a critical mistake fill her with fear. She had neither the time nor the remaining energy for another full incantation. He was going to break out soon, and when he did, she'd need more spells at her disposal to repel him. She held out her arms, gathering the energy quickly to try and blast the wall a third time and see it annihilated--

_CRASH._

Rukia shrieked, feeling herself impaled for the third time in the last hour. Her leg was the target this time, agony shooting up from where the point of a spear had pierced her calf from behind, cutting through bone. She was forced into an awkward half-kneel, one leg falling to its knee and the other bearing the weight of a weapon at an angle. Crumbling noises filled her ears, but they could not drown out the voice that followed the attack.

"To҉̶̧o͏̷̡ ̸҉lat̢͡e͝."

She still had the energy ready, collected against her palms. If she could just aim them... She looked up, arms extended, to find the sunbeams piercing the wall. 

_Cgrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgggggccck--_

As she watched, large chunks of the wall fell away before it crumbled entirely, letting in golden sunlight and a view of the clouds. In that instant, she felt the spear piercing her vanish like before, and she was free. What she did next was less a conscious thought than a reflex in the heat of victory.

" _Sōren Sōkatsui!_ " she yelled, throwing her arms behind her over her head. Though she could not see it, she heard the ferocious blast, somewhat less powerful than her previous ones, and heard a guttural kind of scream that sounded wrong mixed in with Ashido Kano's voice. She collapsed forward, hands flat against the ground and barely holding her up. Throwing her head around, she glanced back behind her, trying to pull her body behind her and pull herself to at least one knee to face him. Surely that had to have caused some serious damage, right?

Rukia saw that he had been launched the length of the room. She watched him pull himself up, and survey the damage to himself just as she was. She was pleased to see that even without the full incantation, a kido spell of that power at point-blank range had done quite its share of harm. One arm was clutching the tattered, smoking remains of the other, all but destroyed up to the elbow, save some strings of flesh and sinew. That wasn't all, either--the midsection and torso were also smoking slightly and seemed to be bleeding. The only part that didn't seem to have taken damage was his face, or rather the large cylindrical tube where a face would be. It seemed he had sacrificed his right arm to protect it. The two floating hollows inside turned in different directions, and Rukia was given the unbidden image of a cross-eyed man. Aaroniero seemed to gaze at her after he finished, pulling himself to his feet.

"I͆͋̋̿̿̿ ͪ̓̽͂h̍̒̔̊̎a̒̄̈́v͗ͨ̉ͬͣ͊̽eͪ̇͐ͫ̐ͬ ͥͦͬ̐̀ͫt̓̂͒ͫō̌̎ aͥ̚d̓̚m̎̍̓̐it͛,͂̍ͩ́ͦ ͯ̍̑̌yͬͮͥ̿o͆̽̓͗͂u ̇̐͊̚tͯ̄̓͊͂ooͫ̉kͪ̽͆ͩ́ ̓ͥ̃̔a͑̈́ͨdͨvaͩ͑nt̆̈̂́̅̑ágͧ̑eͯ̍̈́̈̐̾ o͐ͯf͌̑ ͐̒͋t̿ͫh͑̔́̂ö́ͬ̂ͣs̑ëͩͥ͒ ̈o͆͌̐̓͋peͬ̒ͬn̔ͨiͭͮͩnͦͭg̔s̅̊̌̍̑ͦ ̾̿̍ͪ̈́qui͛̋ͯ͒ͮ̽tͪ̈̀̉ͭe͐̽̈ͤ ̀w̍ͮe̒̿͆ͩ̅̂l͛͛̆̾ͯl.͐" came the high-pitched voice.

"Ye̘̺̺̪̠s, ̦a͈n͇̳̯̺̘̬͓d ̼͔̥y̪̟͚͓̭o̖͔̖̥u̲͎̮̠̭'͚̜̗̯̮v̠̻͇̩̥̜̭e̤͕͓̱̙̱ ̯͓͙̣̹m̻ḁ͓̰͍̣n̩̗ͅa̺̮͉͙̼̗͖g͉͚e̱͕d͕̥̝̮̖̫ ͕̲̭̻̱t̫͇̝̜̹̠̜o̭͖̩̱̗ͅ ̥̙͈͖̮c̹͎͈̮̭̲a̠͚us̻̝̗͔̖e ̩̳̭̤͖ͅs͈o̟̤̫̩̮mḙ̙̖ s̖̙̙̰̭̻er͔̗i̟͈̭̭̗ọ̥̮͕͚̤u̥͕̘͉̰s̞ d͎̥͈̭͇̙a̫͎̪͓͕̱m͔̯ag͉e̱̲͓.̰̺͚͈̖.͓̞.̜̫̩̼͖̫ͅ" came the low-pitched voice.

Rukia could not find the energy to answer. She was panting, and when she glanced down at her hands, they were shaking.

"O͑͛̏̿͂ͪn̈̀͂̿͗ ̑͛͒t̽̊hͣ̚e̅ ͯ̐̏̅͗̃̽o̒͊t͑̌ͦ͂ͯ̎he̓̋̐̌̽ͤr̀̑̀ hǎͧ͗͌͂̏ndͦ̓͗̒..͌ͨ.̓"

"Fr̪̤̘̫͕̖ͅo̘̝̫̖z̗̠̘e̝n͖ ̹͇̦̭̣̱̜b̥y͙̣̹͚ͅ ̖͖̲ͅy̥͎͍͔̫̜͕o̹̭̙̫u̬̯̺̤r̝̹̲̣ ̬̹̪o̝̠͙̺w̻̲̟̼͙͉n ̝͈̺̗̹̗̦h̫an̞̫͕d̪̣͇̗͙͔,̦̟ i̘͇̗̥͉̫m̩̩̰̣̲̼ͅp̞̬ͅa͙̗͇̻̣l̟͕̳ͅe̳͔͔͇ͅd͙͙̻̹̹͖ͅ ̞̘̘͙̣t͕̱̥̲̪w͖̙̱̹̣i̹c͙e̫̖,͚͖̲͈̘ ̘͕̻̟s̤̬t̫̪̟͎̩̞̗a͈b̙̫̖̦̟͖b͕e̹͍͈̟̘͔d̺̜̠̺͍ ͕̗̤in ̹̯̞t̯͎̬̤͓h̳͙̤̬͎͚̻e̱̜̰̩͚͉ ̬l̳̙̞̫͖̣e̬g̬̘̱͙̲,̝̞͓̥ ͖̮a͓͕̫̩̣nḓ̱ ͉e̙x̖h̲̥̻au̫s͉ͅṭ̺̺̘̯͉e̜̘̩̜͇̺̝d̰̼̹͕ ͇f̦̻̭r̭̘̮̺̦͉͙o̟̭m̮͔̮̺ ͙̟̯͍̘̰o̺v̝̞̞̮ḛ̜r̤̻u̺̬̪̱s͉͎͎͇i͙̼n̻̭̰̣͇̫̫g̦̬͉̼ ̩͓͉͙͉̬h̹̖̟̘̲i̞̖̜̼̗͓g͇h͈-̬̙̖̫̫ͅp͕ow͓̭̜̰̯̮e̤͚̝͇̣̼̘r̪͎̭̹e̲d͓͉͙͙ ̳̫̗̘s̫̹͓͔pe͕l̠̘̤̥͓̟l̟s̩̥͙̞ͅ.̩͈ ̖͕̬̠͔̣̞I̳͓̠͚͍̤'̖̤̼d̲̳̣̝̹ ̫͍͔͇̭s͚̲a̮y͙̺̞̹̟̥͚ ̙y͈̥̲̯̖̭̫o͔̞̣͙u̲͙'̟͕̜̜̲̦̲re̬̜͔ a̭͔̺̺̟b͇͉͈̹̺o̙͎̟̱̙u̖t̮͉̙ ̬͉̤̱͖͉a̤̟̳t̻͇̻̹̬ ͍ṭhe̳͈̤̦̺ ̺̩̗̩̪e̼̜̥̥̮ͅn̞d͇̹̱̼ ̯͔̝͍͇o̥̬̠̖͔̮͕f͕̟̺̘̟̟̠ ͍̼y̥͈̟o͔̖̗͙͓u̖̼̖r̩̲̠̳̱̟ ̣̹ͅr̤̯o̮̲̤͉̲̳p̝͓̞e̖͕̻ͅ.̱̰͎̻"

 _He's right_ , Rukia realized. _I've taken way too much damage. And I don't have much energy left for spells, combat, or healing. If I keep fighting, I'm going to die for sure... but there's no escape, so I'm going to die either way... the only question is whether I can take out this Espada before I do..._

 _No!_ came another voice inside her head, senselessly defiant, _It's not over yet! There are people relying on me! Until Orihime's free and safe, I'll keep fighting, even if I have to drag my body to her cell! It's not over yet! I can still fight!_

"I̕t'͞s͏ ti҉me͜ ̛w̛e ͜c͝u͘t thi̵s҉ ͜sho͢r҉t̸. ͞Y̶ou ͠p̕u̢t u͘p ̧a̧n ̶adm͘irabl͟ę ͞fig͏ht,͢ ̵Ruk͡i҉a Kųch̕i͜ki. ͜B͢u̷t ͝y̧ou l̡ose͞,̛ ͟and ͜I ͡wi͟n͡.̡" came the distorted union of voices. "Yo͏u'͢ll get t̕he h̴ono̷r͠ of be̸ing̛ s͏l̨a̸in̴ by͢ a̸n̡ ҉Esp̵a̛da͘'̡s zan͟p̷ak̨u̢to. ̷A̴fţe͟r ̸we ͘d͏evo̸ur̸ ̕y͡o̸u,̴ ͡sa͏y͏ he͡l̴lo t͏o̕ ͞Kai͠e̶n͝ ͏a͜nd̡ ̴Ash͞i͞d̷ǫ f̸or ҉u̢s..̸."

Feeling sick even before it happened, Rukia fought the urge to vomit as Aaroniero, one-handed, shook away the white glove covering his left hand. From underneath the fabric came a disgusting set of tendrils, twisted and spiraled as though woven together with strands of viscera. Though initially they formed a hand-like shape, they quickly unwound, revealing what seemed to be a stump at the wrist around which they grew. That stump squirmed and writhed along with them, and had a hole in the middle, which pulsated and widened, revealing itself to be a mouth-like orifice through which a vivid red tongue poked out, like some sort of cross between a leech, a lamprey, and a snake.

"These ͟w̛o̷u͝nd̸s͝ ͘will ̵heal̛ all̢ t̸he f̡ast͏e̢r o͜n̵ce̢ w̸e ̛ea̡t ͘you̧."

He began to walk towards her, unconcerned about any attack, and panic overtook her. She would _not_ die swallowed by that monstrous maw, but what could she do? There was no time left. She had to make one final stand, and she had to improvise.

She gathered her hands, kneeling and clasping them and bowing her head in a sort of prayer pose. Casting around for some sort of bluff, she threw out an assortment of words that would sound like a kido spell she knew of. 

" _I signal to the heavens, and cry out to the Lord of Flames. Reveal to me the hearth that crafts the sword with which to end life._ "

"Ther̵ę'͟s̴ no us̨e wa͜sting ̢th̛e̕ l͘a͡s̢t҉ ͏of̴ ̕your̸ ener̷g̕y͜..͞.̸"

" _In the desecration of desperation, I enact the forbidden, and offer myself as a sacrifice. My flesh and bone, transmogrified into fuel with which I cremate myself, along with mine enemy!_ "

There was a pause in the sound of the footsteps. They soon resumed, but she did not stop her chant.

" _Answer my call, ye lord, and change me, charge me, annihilate me as a furious explosion!_ "

_Bvvt._

" _Bakudo seventy-three! Tozanshō!_ "

Light glowed around her, and energy flowed into lines that created a casing in the shape of an inverted pyramid around her. When she looked up, she was looking through a translucent blue kido barrier, and saw Aaroniero on the opposite side of the room once more, a safe distance away. Silence rang around the room for a short moment.

".͡.̡.͘Gi͢v̴e̛n y̨o͜u̵r͠ ha͠bit͢ ̵of s͏acrifi͝c͡in̷g your͜s͞e̡lf҉ ҉t͏ơ ̴g̡ain̕ th̨e uppe̕r̢ ḩa̵nd ̛so ͞f̢ar, ҉you͏ had me fo̕o̷l҉e̸d ̶t̨he̢r̶e ͝for̵ ͜a ̕sec̸on̷d̶. But ̛I͢ g͜u̢e̢s̡s̕ ͞I͠'m ̨st͡u͞p͡id ͜f̵or fa̡ll͏įn̡g ̕for it. N͜in͢et͟ie͡s̕-lev̧el͝ ҉ki̷d̡o͢ i̛s͡ ̸fa͞r͞ ͢be̶y̨o͡n̴d̕ a͏ pra̴cti҉t͡i̕on͝e̶r҉ of y҉ou҉r͟ ̴caliber͜,̧ e̶vęn a̧t ҉fu̸l҉l s̛t͟r̵engt̷h,̵ m͏u̵c̸h ̧le͘ss Itt̛ō ͢Kas̛ơ̄. Įn͠ the e̴nd ̛th͜o͠u̵gh̢,͜ ̸it͢ d̡oes͡n͏'t m҉atte͜r."

Aaroniero held out the maw-arm, and the glowing of his violet cero shone. He intended to blow away her defense, it seemed, as he was charging it in full. This would be her final stand--a ploy she would adapt from a move she'd seen him pull shortly before. She would rely on her flash step expertise, and try to use that to land her coup de grace. She grasped Sode no Shirayuki in both her hands, and rose up onto her one working leg, before steadily pulling the other beneath her. She'd need to cross the length of the room, and use the cero's crash against her barrier to block Aaroniero's view of her doing so. With the advantage of surprise, she might could carve straight through that tank holding the two Hollow heads, which was a clear weak point given he'd sacrificed an arm to keep it safe. She made sure to angle herself down, so that she could dodge the energy wave itself.

_One..._

_Two..._

_Three..._

_CRASH._

 In a single instant, the wave of violet smashed into her blue barrier, shattering it into dozens of glass-like fragments, and in another instant came the scenery change that flash step caused. Her hair was swept back as the blast from the cero dissipated mere centimeters above her head, and she found herself directly in front of Aaroniero.

" _Haaaaaaaaah!_ "

She swung her shikai blade upwards, arcing diagonally and aiming to cleave his "head" in two. Though she hadn't been hit by the cero, she was dizzy, but this did not keep her from noticing her success--she had sliced through, and she heard another scream ring out.

Her knees gave out. She fell forward to the ground, coughing up blood. It was not the only blood to make it to the floor, as she saw drops of red liquid hit the ground near her head. Her plan had worked... right?

" _A͠A̵̵͠A̢A̸A̛͝҉A͘G͢G͢HH͡͞!!̷͞!̵̢͞ ̨Y̸̢̧O͞U͏-̷̸͜- ̸̶͢Y̕͞҉O̶̵U͡-̸͝-͏̨͝ ̕͢F̢Į̵L͡͠T̡͏HY̛ ̵̴͏S͡H̴I̧͢͡T ̛S̶̕OU̕L͝ Ŗ̴͝E̵͘̕A̛҉P͞E̛͟R͡͡-͜-͢!̡͠_ "

Turning her head up from the cold floor, she peered up, where the tall figure was bleeding from. Something in her died when she saw the damage. It was not the glass tank she'd cut through, but the Arrancar's arm. Turning back to the side, she saw it writhing near her, before disintegrating. The maw was gone. But her opponent still lived. Worse, the loss of both arms only seemed to have angered him.

" _I̸͝-̶͟͠-̷you ̛fu͘c͝k͜in̵g̷͞-̵̛͝-͢͢y̴-͡͞y̧͟҉ou-̛̕--͘_ " she heard him say, before he seemed to compose himself, harsh inhuman breaths sounding out. He seemed to compose himself after a minute more of cursing. "A̴n̷̨̛d҉ ̢̕t͞h̸̨e͡ ͡i͜͜nf̷͘i̴҉r͘m̶̛͠ ͢҉įs̷͢ ̴s̴ǫ͡ ̢fa͜͏r̸͢ ͏͘ą̵w҉a͜y̴.̵͘͞.̛.̧̛͡ ̡I'̛m̸ ̵̨l̶͝eąvi͠͝n̸̷g͡͝ ̧̕҉ņ̸o̢w,͜ t̡̕o͢͠ ͠go g̨e̢t̡͝ ̨͘m̴҉y̛̕ a̴͏͟rm̵s̨͞ ̸r͞e̡̕g͜e͡n̸̡e͏̕ŗ͡͏a͡t͜͟e̶d͟͝.҉ En̢j̨͟͞o͢y̡ ͏̛͞t̢͢͡h͟͢e̸͠͡ ̡͟l̷͞͞a͏s̢̕t͜ ̵̨͢m̨͜o̴̧m̷͢e͜n̶t̡͘s ̕o̶̵f y͞҉o҉̕ư̴r̸̛ ͘͜͠ļi͝͠҉f͠e҉̨,̵̛͢ ͏͞R̷̴ųkia̛͠ ͝K̢͟u͏͘c̛h̢͜͠i͠k̸į.̸ ̴I͏ pu̧t ̵҉̷in̢ ͢t̢o̸̵o͢ ҉m̧u͟c̸h̡ ̨wo͢͢͢r̷k̴͘ ̨͝͝t҉o ҉lo͟s͝͞e̷͟ ͏t̡̨hi̢͢s͜͠ m̛͟ea͞͠l,͟҉̡ ͠b͝҉u̧t͢ ̴̵d̸͞o͟n̶̡'͠t̨̛̕ ̛w͢o̶͟r̸͘r̢y͘.̷̵͠ ̸Y͝ǫ͞͝u͝͠'̛͞l͏̨l͝ p͢͢͝r̕ob̡a͝bl̨͢y ̴b͏e͠ ͢͞͞d̨ę̛a̷͏̶ḑ͢ b̸̨̨y ̢t̷h̡͡e͜͠ ҉̶͡t͘į̷͢m͟҉e̸͠ ̶̡I r̵͢͢e̡͟t͏u̧̕͢r҉n̛̕ ͏̶a̧͡n̶̛d͏ ̕͢d̷e̢̧͠v̨o̷̸͡u͝r ̧̛͜y̵̡o̴ur͏̨͜ ̕͢b̴̸ody̶.̶"

It was not panic or raw fear that overtook her this time, but sheer misery. She had lost. Her opponent was, quite literally, walking away, and there was nothing she could do about it, lacking the strength to move anymore. Could she muster up some strength for kaido? Even a little? Even if a miracle occurred and she was still alive by the time he came back...

Her hand descended to her wounded stomach, barely able to give off a faint green glow.

 _Someone else has to take up the fight_ , she thought. _Someone else will come..._

_I'm coming, Orihime... Just hold on..._


End file.
